44: Mr. H. A. Ba}li3 on a new 



becoming gravid (fig. 2, Ut.). It occupies the middle field 

 of the segment, extending across it in a transverse direction. 

 In its eaily stages it appears to be an irregularly branched 

 tube, but soon becomes more distended and like an oblong 

 sac in form. Its boundaries are never very clearly marked, 

 the walls being exceedingly delicate. 



The uterus persists through about 28 segments, but after a 

 short time appears to break down altogether, and the ova are 

 seen to be scattered among the parenchyme. 



Very soon a number of little thickenings appear, evenly 

 distributed throughout the medullary parenchyme, each 

 beino- the result of a very active local prolifeiation of nuclei. 

 Into the middle of each of these thickenings several eggs 

 find their "ay, and each clump of eggs thus formed becomes 

 surrounded by a more and more definite spherical investment 

 of condensed parenchymatous tissue, which is very opaque 

 owing to the crowded nuclei. 



The fully developed egg-capsules measure O^S mm. in 

 diameter, and each contains about 20 eggs. The embryos 

 have a diameter of 0'016 mm. ; they do not appear to be 

 provided with pyriform bodies. In the fully ripe proglottids 

 at the posterior end of the worm (fig. 5) the egg-capsules 

 occupy almost the entire space within the cortical paren- 

 chyme. On opening such a segment with needles^ the 

 capsules come away quite freely, leaving rounded spaces 

 separated only by thin walls of tissue, which is all that 

 remains of the medullary parenchyme. 



The definitive structure of the egg-capsules (fig. 6) is 

 almost identical with that described and figured by Beddard 

 (1912) for Iiiermicapsifer capensts. Tliere is an outer layer 

 of laro-e cells, the contents of which appear to be finely 

 granular, especially in the outer row of cells. The cells of 

 the inner coat are rather smaller and contain many large 

 globules. Possibly these may be of the nature of nutrient 

 material for the embryos. The eggs, enclosed in their thin 

 membranes, are contained in cavities in the centre of the 

 or^an, surrounded by a spongy mass of substance in which I 

 was unable to distinguish cell-boundaries. It contains many 

 globules similar to those seen in the inner cell-layer of the 

 capsule. In all probability, therefore, the central substance 

 is formed by the breaking-down of the innermost cells of this 

 layer. The cavities in which the eggs are lodged become 

 conspicuous in mounted preparations, owing to the shrinkage 

 of the egg-membranes away from them. They apparently 

 have a cellular lining, the nuclei of which can be seen 

 flattened against their walls. 



