8 Dr. & the Rev. S. Graham Biade-Biiks— 



familiar when he wrote his work on Chilopoda (12). Gazag- 

 naire, wlio mentions the pul)lications of a number of earlier 

 authors asks tw'o questions : Among Gcophili(he which 

 j)r()(lucc light, is it possible to determine more or less 

 precisciv a special time at which luminosity occurs ? Can 

 we discover something of a physiological process in connec- 

 tion with its ])roduction ? 



Gazngiiaire dwells Jipon the difficulty of the whole subject, 

 and tal)ulates a number of observations to show that 

 Geophilomorphs have been seen in a lighting condition by 

 various European observers between the end of September 

 and the first fortnight of November, and on the strength of 

 these observations he eoncludcs that " «///o//// the photoyenic 

 Geojj/nlida, the property 0/ emitting light on/i/ manifests itself 

 at a definite period of their e.ristence, n period which, for our 

 European species, con be limited ftetireen the end of September 

 and the first fortnight of November." 



Gazaguairc goes on to comment upon the fact that 

 luminous centipedes have often been noticed two or more 

 near tojrether, and when tliese have been determined thev 

 have seldom been found to be all of one sex. He states 

 that Geophiliche, like other Chiiopods, generally have an 

 antipathy for one another, but he suggests that at the 

 breedinjr-season this love of isolation lu'eaks down and 

 numbei's of iiulividuals gather together at the time when the 

 genital organs become I'unetional, and, as phosjjlioreseenee 

 shows itself at the same time, it is natural to conclude that 

 " the property of emitting light among the photogenic Geoplii- 

 fidre is intimiitrhj connected with the geni tot junction." 



Dealing with the researches of Fabre in a passage we 

 Lave translated as follows, Gazagnaire says ; — 



"The demonstration of this conclusion becomes more 

 evident still if we make an appeal to the data which we 

 ])osscss concerning the probable mode of feitilization in 

 th.ese animals. We owe them to Fabre, our great ento- 

 niolojii>t. 



"For two whole years Fabre followed uj) his researches 

 on (ieophilidie. He never verified coitus. 1 do not know 

 that anyone since has been moi'c successful than he. The 

 discharge of spermatophores, discovered by Fabre, seems to 

 comfirm the fact that among G( ojihilida; there is no coitus, 

 which is contrary to the belief of G. Newport, expressed in 

 LSIO. At the end of Se})tember, on examining some Geo- 

 phihis convotveiis * kept in captivity, Fabre noticed, in the 



* [We do ii.it know this sjiecific iiainc— //. K. li-lJ., S. (I. ll.-Ii.] 



