64 Mr. Broderip on the 



" Bernard Street, Jan. 23, 1828. 

 « Dear Sir, 



'' I have examined as attentively and as carefully as I could the cluster of 

 " ova of the Argonaut which you sent me, with the help of my reflecting 

 " microscope, made by Amici. Each ovum was in length about one 20th 

 *' of an inch, and in breadth one 25th, and was connected with a matted 

 *' tissue of fibres in the centre of the cluster by a fine filament, which, 

 " when the egg was drawn away from the rest, extended to six or eight 

 " times the longest diameter of the egg before it broke. After opening the 

 " outer membrane of the egg, which I did under spirits of wine, in a 

 " watch glass, the only mode in which I could examine its contents, in so 

 " minute an object, was to pick them out with the point of a fine needle. 

 " I thus obtained a number of irregular fragments of a matter which 

 " seemed to be of nearly uniform consistence. Among these fragments 

 " I could not discover by the most careful search any thing that bore the 

 " least appearance of a shell, or the rudiment of a shell. During this 

 " dissection, if so rude a method of examination deserves to be so called, 

 *' an immense multitude of very minute globules were washed out and 

 " scattered in the surrounding spirit. Besides these there were also 

 " effused several globules of much larger size, which were fluid, and per- 

 " fectly transparent, and had exactly the appearance of oil. The outer 

 *' membrane of the egg was a fine semitransparent pellicle, torn by the 

 " slightest touch, and apparently containing a great number of grains in 

 *' its texture. Two or three opaque lines were seen extending from the 

 " point to which the filament connecting it with the cluster of ova was 

 " attached. The enclosed drawing, such as it is, shews what I have 

 " seen ; but I fear it will not afford you much instruction. 



*' Fig. 1. is the entire ovum, the surface of which was dotted with 

 " points, or depressions, resembling that of an orange. 



" Fig. 2. is the ovum torn asunder, and the contents effused ; with the 

 " solid part divided into irregular fragments : the minute globules, and 

 " also the larger oily globules are seen dispersed in the fluid. 



" Fig. 3. represents a portion of the semitransparent outer case or 

 *' shell of the egg, shewing the granular appearance of its texture. 



" Dear Sir, 



" Yours very truly, 



" P. M. ROGET." 



