Miscellaneous. 70 



brane of the small intestine of Julus marginatusy Say, occasionally 

 from the same membrane at the commencement of the large intestine, 

 and also from any part of the exterior surface of Ascaris infecta and 

 Aorurus ; entozoa infesting those portions of the intestinal canal of 

 this animal. 



The youngest individuals of Enter ohrus which I ever detected, 

 measured l-380th of an inch in length by 1-1 060th in breadth, but 

 the most usual sizes vary from the 1-1 50th of an inch to the full- 

 grown individual. At all ages they contain the same character of 

 contents, but in the younger ones the large globules are usually pre- 

 dominant, sometimes to such an extent as to exclude the other mat- 

 ters. When quite young they are usually more or less clavate and 

 straight ; a little more advanced they form a gentle curve, about one- 

 eighth of a circle. A little older, the distal half or third becomes 

 uniformly dilated, and forms an obtuse angle with the other portion ; 

 after this, as it continues growing, it usually forms a single spiral turn, 

 becomes uniformly dilated, and thus advances to the full-grown in- 

 dividual. The cell-contents consist principally of large transparent 

 globules, with granules and protoplasma in the interstices. Frequently 

 the cells are found distended with the globules to such an extent that 

 the other matters almost, and occasionally even entirely disappear. 

 Iodine turns the protoplasma and granules deep yellow or very deep 

 brown, and causes the rupture of the globules, when a clear fluid is 

 observed to exude ; very slightly coloured purplish, or undergoing no 

 change of colour from the iodine. Solution of iodine, acetic acid, salt 

 water, or the prolonged action of water alone, causes a contraction of 

 the cell-contents from the sides of the permanent cell-wall, but they 

 are still held together by an apparent delicate membrane of the cha- 

 racter of a primordial utricle. Frequently in dead individuals, the in- 

 terior contents shrink to two-thirds, occasionally to one-third the dia- 

 meter of the cell calibre, and almost eight to twenty times the diameter 

 of the cell from each extremity, when they have the appearance of a 

 shrivelled granular membrane. In these latter cases the characteristic 

 globules and granules have disappeared, and their place is more or 

 less occupied with water, and yellowish globular, highly refractive 

 bodies, which resemble oil. These latter globules vary in size from a 

 mere point up to one-fourth the diameter of the cell. The smaller 

 ones are contained within the shrivelled primordial utricle with a few 

 of the larger ones, and a number of the latter occupy a position be- 

 tween the primordial utricle and the cell-wall, apparently formed by a 

 conjunction of the smaller globules and an exudation through the 

 primordial utricle during the act of contraction consequent upon de- 

 composition. They are insoluble in alcohol, but are soluble in aether 

 and solution of potassa ; in fact in all their properties they resemble 

 oil. Can these oil globules be the result of decomposition ? 



The protoplasma or fluid of the cells is colourless or faintly yel- 

 lowish, contracts or coagulates upon the application of alcohol, and is 

 coloured brown by iodine, having all the characters usually possessed 

 by that albuminoid fluid found in all young vegetable cells, and deno- 

 minated protoplasma by H. von Mohl. 



