1882.J 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



79 



mens of a Boring Annelid, and described, 

 by the aid of black-board drawings, the 

 probable method of excavating in hard 

 substances. He showed two mounted 

 specimens, one with the jaws extended, 

 and one in which the head was retracted 

 far back into the body of the animal. 



The track of an annelid, as Mr. Hyatt 

 had found by cutting sections of shells, 

 was always downward and then back to 

 the surface in a line parallel with, and 

 close to, the original channel, so that fre- 

 quently a section across the borings shows 

 either two channels with a very thin par- 

 tition between them, or else without any 

 wall of division. 



Remarks were made by several mem- 

 bers of the society, particularly concerning 

 the method of boring. It was thought by 

 some that the apparatus for boring de- 

 scribed by Mr. Hyatt could not be hard 

 enough to penetrate solid rock, but the 

 weight of evidence seemed to be conclu- 

 sive that no chemical action assisted in 

 the process. 



Mr. Hitchcock described the structure 

 of sponges. His remarks were principally 

 based upon the description of sponges in 

 Saville Kent's Manual of the Infusoria. 

 According to Mr. Kent's observations and 

 also to others by Carter and by our coun- 

 tryman, Prof. H. James Clarke, the sponge 

 consists of a mass of clear, homogeneous, 

 jelly-like matter, the cytoblastema, tra- 

 versed by ramifying canals which are en- 

 larged m places. The cytoblastema is 

 covered with an imperfectly differentiated 

 investing membrane, and the spicules 

 are imbedded in it. The canals are en- 

 larged into chambers at different points, 

 and these chambers, known as ampulla- 

 ceous sacs, are lined with spherical or 

 oval monads, each of which has a hya- 

 line, bell-shaped collar at the anterior end, 

 through the centre of which a long flagel- 

 lum extends into the chamber. These 

 collared monads also line the channels in 

 some species of sponges. By the constant 

 lashing of the flagella, currents of wa- 

 ter are drawn through the pores, the small 

 openings on the surface of the sponge, 

 into the ampuUaceous sacs, and from these 

 they pass to larger channels which lead 

 to the large openings or oscula at the sur- 

 face. This constant circulation provides 

 the sponge with air and food. 



Within the cytoblastema are a great 

 number of amoeboid bodies which are 

 difficult to distinguish from the mass in 

 which they are imbedded. By the coale- 

 scence of these amoeboids, which seem to 



be derived by a direct transformation of 

 collared monads, one process of reproduc- 

 tion is accomplished. The other processes 

 of reproduciion were described. 



Sponges appear to belong to the pro- 

 tozoa, although some authors believe they 

 should be classed among . the metazoa. 

 The speaker was fully convinced of their 

 protozoic nature. 



An interesting address was recently de- 

 livered by Mr. Isaac C. Martindale, before 

 the Camden Microscopical Society on 

 " Cell Structure in the Vegetable King- 

 dom," but the report of the address which 

 we have is hardly suitable for publication 

 here. The subject was illustrated by 

 several objects under microscopes, among 

 which were cyclosis in anacharis, desmids 

 shown by Prof. Kain, a fern leaf by Mr. 

 Bowden, Volvox globator by Mr. Clark, 

 and Glasocapsa by Mr. Morrison. 



A meeting of the State Microscopi- 

 cal Society of Illinois was held Fri- 

 day evening, February 10th, 1882. Mr. 

 E. B. Stuart read a paper entitled " Notes 

 on the lodo-sulphate of Quinia." 



The speaker stated that some time ago 

 it became desirable to ascertain if a cer- 

 tain sample of muriate of morphia con- 

 tained traces of quinia. He found no 

 published reference to the action of mor- 

 phia on the iodo-sulphate-test of Herapath. 

 This test had been a favorite with him for 

 some time, partly on account of the ease 

 with which it could be applied, and partly 

 on account of the certainty of the reaction. 

 He first tried the reaction on a solution 

 containing one part of quinia and nine of 

 morphia. The morphia in this mixture 

 did not prevent the formation of the iodo- 

 sulphate of quinia ; nor did it have any 

 effect when the morphia was in the pro- 

 portion of 1,000 to 1 of quinia. 



The mode of performing this test was 

 to dissolve the salt in dilute alcohol, by 

 the aid of sulphuric acid, and the solution 

 warmed to about 100° F. Very dilute 

 tincture of iodine is then added, drop by 

 drop, with constant agitation. When a 

 sufficient quantity of iodine has been add- 

 ed, the precipitate appears and quickly 

 subsides. 



In a mixture of the four principal cin- 

 chona alkaloids, the quinia is first sepa- 

 rated, then the cinchonidia, which is fol- 

 lowed in turn by the quinidia, and finally 

 by the cinchonia. The latter reaction 

 takes place very slowly, however, and only 

 in tolerably concentrated solutions. 



The separation of cinchonidia from 



