OviimriUj o/'Peripatus Leuckartii, 141 



August 31st, as mentioned in a postscript to my first commu- 

 nication on the subject, one of the female specimens was 

 found dead. On being dissected the reproductive organs 

 appeared very well developed ; but, although the ovary and 

 oviducts were both large (the former containing a great many 

 ovarian eggs), there was not a single ^^^^ in either of the 

 oviducts, all having been doubtless laid. 



On September 16 the two remaining females were still 

 alive. I killed and dissected one. The organs appeared 

 healtliy and well develojied. In the lower part of each 

 oviduct one large <i.^^ was found. The eggs presented the 

 usual cliaracters, having a very thick but unsculptured enve- 

 lope filled with yolk. Both eggs were cut open and 

 examined microscopically, but I did not succeed in recog- 

 nizing any trace of an embryo in either. 



On conipletely turning out the vivarium and examining 

 its contents carefully I found one more Peripatus Q,g^ amongst 

 the rotten wood (September 16). It looked much healthier 

 than those which had previously been transferred from the 

 vivarium, many of the latter having already begun to shrivel 

 up and acquire a dark colour. In the newly found &^g^ and 

 also in the healthier looking of those previously obtained, 

 there now appeared to be a dark spot in tlie interior, but this 

 was only dimly visible through the thick, sculptured shell. 



On September 25th the last remaining female was still 

 apparently in good health, but on October 1st it was found 

 dead — how long it had been so I do not know. On dissec- 

 tion I found the internal organs in a bad condition. Neither 

 eggs nor embryo were visible in the oviducts. The ducts of 

 the slime-glands were very much enlarged and swollen out, 

 while the branched portions appeared feebly developed, in 

 fact not distinctly recognizable. The alimentary canal was 

 almost empty and the animal seemed to have died of starva- 

 tion. 



On October 3rd I dissected one of the eggs from the 

 hatching-box. I could find no embryo in it, but only the 

 same semi-liquid yolk-like contents as when in uterOj full of 

 little oil- or yolk-globules. Inside the thick, sculptured 

 " shell " there was, as usual, a very thin and delicate transpa- 

 rent membrane. Probably a young embryo was really present, 

 but was broken up in opening the q^^^^ and overlooked ; even 

 at a much later period the embryonic tissues are extremely 

 delicate. 



On November 30 I noted that several of the Qggs were 

 showing indications of an embryo appearing coiled up within 

 them, but the shell was so thick and opaque that it was 



