102 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Apr., 



end of the canal. Between these ciliated areas are cells 

 that have a distinctly striated border and contain in 

 many cases large yellowish globules. At other places 

 there are cells which stain differently from the rest and 

 are filled with coarsely granular material. 



To determine the exact functions of these cells would 

 require a careful series of physiological experiments, 

 only a few were tried, but these proved very suggestive. 

 A larva was put in a mixture of milk and water and left 

 there for several hours. Milk was found firmly coagu- 

 lated throughout the length of the intestine and the 

 amount of golden yellow material present in the cells 

 was much increased. A similar experiment was tried 

 with raw starch instead of milk ; the results were simi- 

 lar excepting that the amount of yellow material in the 

 cells was not as great as in the case of milk-fed larva. 

 The intestine of a specimen taken from running water 

 showed a small quantity of the same colored material 

 in corresponding places. 



Parts of the intestines of these artificially fed larvsB 

 were hardened in osmic acid. Tissue from the milk-fed 

 one showed the presence of numerous blackened gran- 

 ules in the striated-bordered cells and underlying muscu- 

 lar and cavernous tissues. The tissues of the starch-fed 

 larva showed granules in corresponding places but in no 

 case with any tendency to blacken. These experiments 

 suggest almost to a certainty that these striated-bordered 

 cells are absorptive in function ; this agrees with the 

 views held in regard to similarly striated cells that are 

 found in the alimentary tract of the frog. 



The liver of the larva is simple and tubular in structure. 

 Much fat was found to be normally present in its cells 

 while many granules resembling those present in the 

 striated-bordered cells of the alimentary tract are found 

 in an intercellular position. 



The adult enteron has undergone extensive modifica- 



