36 Mr. J. Blackwall on new Species of East-Indian Spiders. 



When we see all these various simple organizations engaged 

 in rapid development and progressive growth at the expense of 

 the fluid cell-contents, we are led to the supposition that, under 

 such conditions, this cell-juice cannot be of exactly the same 

 nature in the different regions of the cell, but that the fluid 

 occupying the periphery of the cell-cavity, and secreted by the 

 assimilative cell-membranes, will be physically and chemically 

 diff'erent from that surrounding the vesicles which assimilate the 

 nitrogenous compounds, and, again, that it will be differently 

 constituted in the vicinity of those which appropriate compounds 

 rich in carbon. 



It is only by this supposition that a movement of the cell- 

 juice appears to be explicable. This is the movement which was 

 discovered by Corti in 1774, and which we must still regard as 

 wonderful so long as we do not recognize the true nature of the 

 cell-contents, but believe that the cell-juice separates into a 

 denser and a thinner portion, that the latter is difi'used through 

 the former in the shape of drops, and that the denser muci- 

 laginous fluid circulates between the watery drops without 

 mixing with them ! This would be to transfer to the cell 

 Grew^s notion of the structure of the tissue of plants, which, 

 after the lapse of 200 years, has fortunately been overthrown. 



There is, however, no doubt that the mucoid filaments by 

 which the nucleus appears to be suspended are the fluid and 

 frequently granularly mucilaginous contents of the tissue-cell, 

 moving gently among colourless, non-nucleated cells. The form 

 of these filaments is therefore equally variable with that of the 

 cells themselves. With the increasing enlargement of the two 

 daughter cells produced in the cell-nucleus, or of the two large 

 colourless secretion-cells from the ends of the cell towards its 

 middle point, this system of filaments changes continually, and 

 thus indicates the changes which are taking place in the other- 

 wise recognizable cells of which they occupy the interspaces. 

 [To be continued.] 



IV. — Descriptions of Seven new Species of East-Indian Spiders 

 received from the Rev. 0. P. Cambridge. Bv John Black- 

 wall, F.L.S. 



Tribe Octonoculina. 



Family Lycosid^. 



Genus Sphasus, Walck. 



Sphasus lepidus. 



Length of the female ^rd of an inch ; length of the cephalo- 



