120 Mr. F. E, Beddard on the 



in diameter at tlie clitellum ; it is of an intense brown colour, 

 almost black, tlie intersegniental grooves being grey. Pcrrier 

 does not mention the colour of his specimens. 



The only points in the structure of the worm to which I 

 wish to call particular attention are tlie calciferous glands, 

 which were mistaken by Perrier for a part of the circulatory 

 system ; the structure lettered coe in his figure * is really a 

 calciferous gland f of a conical form ; a blood-vessel arising 

 from the dorsal vessel enters this gland at the apex, and looks 

 very much as if it were simply continuous with it ; however, 

 in the specimen in the Vienna J\Iuseum the blood-vessel gives 

 off a branch which ramifies over the surface of the gland 

 before it enters its substance ; this does away with the resem- 

 blance which the gland bears to a simple enlargement of the 

 vascular trunk wliich supplies it. In the segment in front of 

 this, i. e. the twelfth, is a large body which a])pears to be in 

 connexion with the calciferous gland. This is really a 

 dilated " heart," and there is another pair equally or nearly 

 equally large in the next segment in front. The condition of 

 this specimen did not permit of a conclusive settlement of 

 this question ; but I have been able to get some evidence in 

 favour of this view of the anatomy of the parts. 



A portion of the contents of the body lettered II in the 

 drawing (PI. VII. fig. 2) was extracted and teased in gly- 

 cerine ; it was evidently simply a blood-clot. On the other 

 hand, a portion of the contents of the body, lettered Ca, which 

 1 take to be a calciferous gland, showed a series of elongated 

 blood-clots which were surrounded by a layer of granular 

 debris ; these clots were highly suggestive of the coagulated 

 contents of the blood-s])aces whicli lie in the folds of the 

 calciferous glands of other earthworms ; the granular sub- 

 stance round the clots would be in this case the remains of 

 the epithelium. As to the connexion between the calciferous 

 glands of each side and the heart, which Perrier figures, it 

 undoubtedly occurs, though perhaps it is more apparent than 

 real. In the first place there is a septum between the two ; 

 ihcy occur in different segments, both being attached to the 

 septum would give an appearance of an actual connexion ; 

 there may, however, be a short branch from the heart to the 

 calciferous gland. 



The setai of Geoscolcx arc said by Perrier to possess no 

 interesting jicculiarity. ] understand by this that he regarded 

 them as similar to those of Lumhticus. 1 find, however (see 



* Loc. cit. ])1. i. fig. IT). 



t l^r. Benhaiii iutbvms me that lie has come to the same conclusion. 



