Mr. C. C. Babiiigton on some species o/Epilobiiuu. 31 1 



made upon the ova of the Batrachia by many authors * have not 

 led to the discovery of the micropyle in them ? 



3. renctration dirt'ctly into thi; naked vitellus. It is certain, 

 in fact, that the mode of origin of tlie ova described by ]\Ieissner 

 in Mennis albicans, M. nigrescens, and sevei-al Ascarides, is not 

 general even amongst the Nematoid worms. A great many o\a 

 only obtain an envelope at a very late period, and are probably 

 fecundated before they possess one, so that they do not require 

 the presence of a micropyle. JMeissner himself has seen the 

 spermatozoa penetrate directly, and in crowds, into the ova of 

 the Earthworm, at a period when they are completely destitute 

 of an envelope. As regards these, Meissner supposes that they 

 originally possess a membrane which disappears before fecunda- 

 tion. This is very possible, as we know that a similar disap- 

 pearance takes place, although at a later period, with the vitel- 

 line membrane of the ova of Gasteropoda and Insects (Rathke, 

 Kcilliker, Zaddach, Leuckartf)- 



[To be continued.] 



XXV. — On some species o/Epilobium. 

 By Charles C. Babingtox, M.A., F.R.S. &c. 



[Concluded from p. 24/.] 



We will now turn our attention to the species allied to E. 

 alpinum, which present some difficulty, from there being pro- 

 bably two plants which pass by that name. Of this Dr. Godron 

 was well aware when preparing the account of this genus for the 



* Swammerdamm, Biblia Naturae. Leeuwenhoeck, Arcana Naturae. 

 Rcesel, Hist. Nat. Rauarum nostratium; Niimberg, 1758. Spallanzani, 

 Diss, relatives a I'llist. Nat. des Animaux et des Yegetaux, 1/89. Pre- 

 vost and Dumas, Ann. des Sci. Nat. tome ii. Rusconi, Developpement de 

 la Grenouille commune; Milan, 1828; andAmoiu-s des Salamandres, 1821. 

 Baer, Lettre sur la Formation de I'CEuf, 1829 ; Repertorium ; Miiller's 

 Archiv, 18.'i4. Reichert, Entwickelungsleben im Wirbelthierreich ; Berlin, 

 1840. Vogt, Untersuchungen viber die Entwickelungsgeschichte von der 

 Geburtshelt'erkrote ; Solothurn, 1842. Bell, British Reptiles. Newport on 

 the Impregnation of the Ovum in the Amphibia, Phil. Trans. 1851 and 

 1853. 



t We might add to these a fourth mode of fecundation, if we admitted, 

 with Remak (Miiller's Archiv, 1854), that the spermatozoa are only 

 destined to ti .msjiort a substance serving to effect fecundation {die Trdger 

 einer samendhiilichen Subslanz). This substance being capable of passing 

 through the little canals of the external membrane of the ova of Fishes, it 

 would not be necessary that the spermatozoid itself should j)enctrate into 

 the ovum in these animals. But we are already acquainted with the 

 micropyle in many fishes, and it will proliably be discovered in the others, 

 which renders this theorv verv useless. 



