ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 61 
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apparent to the eye in winter, thin sections show the ducts and 
microscopical rudiments of germinal follicles as a network of 
strands of minute germinal cells, which traverse superficially 
in all directions the coarse connective tissue miscalled the “ fat,” 
in which all of the visceral organs of the animal are embedded. 
As the breeding season approaches the minute germinal cells 
of this network of rudimentary reproductive cells commence to 
grow, until they attain the development observed in the animal 
when full of ripespawn. Some investigations conducted under 
the auspices of the Dutch government indicate that the structure 
of the generative organs of the European oyster is not as has 
been supposed strictly follicular, but that they may rather be 
regarded as a mass of anastomosing tubes of irregular caliber. 
The complete proof of this has been developed by the writer in 
the course of investigations carried out upon our native oysters, 
in which the generative organs were very immature during the 
winter season. Both Brooks and myself have spoken of the 
generative follicles as though they had been clearly made out ; 
it now appears that we will be compelled to modify our termin- 
ology somewhat, in the face of the fact that I have sections of 
the immature generative organ which exhibits it as a network 
of germinal cells, as well as sections of the mature organs which 
show a more or less distinct tubular structure opening toward 
the surface into the superficial or surface outgoing canals. At 
the same time the tubes show more or less extensive junction or 
anastomosis with each other at certain points along their length, 
with a general tendency to be disposed vertically to the surface 
of the visceral mass. This arrangement reminds one somewhat 
of the more or less parallel disposition of the seminal tubules 
of the testicles or milt of fishes and higher animals. 
We will endeavor to use the terms “fry” and “spat” in such 
a way as to avoidconfusion. As soon as the egg has developed 
far enough to move about by means of the fine motile filaments 
with which it is partially covered, it may be considered to have 
reached the fry state of development, and to have hatched; but 
it is to be borne in mind that an oyster egg does not hatch in the 
same sense as the egg of a chicken or fish, that is, by breaking 
its egg-shell or membrane, because the oyster egg is without a 
