ON THE SCOTTISH ZOOLOGICAL STATION. 177 



Report of the Committee, consisting of Dr. M. Fostei{, the late 

 Professor Eolleston, Mr, Pye-Smith, Professor Huxley, Dr. 

 Carpenter, Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys, My. F. M. Balfour, Sir C. 

 Wyville Thomson, Professor Ray Lankester, Professor Allman, 

 and Mr. Percy Sladen (Secretary), appointed for the purpose 

 of aiding in the maintenance of the Scottish Zoological Station. 



The Committee beg to report that with the aid of the grant (50?.) voted 

 last jeav, they have been able to assist in the maintenance of the Station 

 whilst at Cromarty. The most important work undertaken during this 

 period has been the ' Observations on the Locomotor System of the 

 Echinodermata,' by Mr. Romanes and Professor Ewart. The paper con- 

 taining the results of the investigations, having been constituted the 

 Croonian Lecture, was read at the meeting of the Royal Society, held on 

 March 24. A short account of the work was given in 'Nature,' No. 697, 

 vol. 23 ; and an abstract will appear in the ' Proceedings of the Royal 

 Society.' 



The authors report that during their investigations they directed 

 attention chiefly to the structure and function of the ambulacral and 

 nervous systems. By injection, they satisfied themselves : — 



(1) Tbat the ambulacral was independent of the blood- vascular system, 

 and that both systems were in communication with the external medium 

 at their common origin in the madreporic plate — the blood-vascular sys- 

 tem being in freer communication with the exterior than the ambulacral 

 system. 



(2) That iu the common Holothurian, the ambulacral fluid passed 

 from the circular canal into five small sinuses, from which it might either 

 enter the radial canals or the large sinuses at the bases of the tentacles. 



Of the nervous system, it was shown that in Echinus the lateral 

 branches from the radial trunks escaped with the pedicels and blended 

 with an external sub-epidermic plexus, which extended on to the spines and 

 pedicellariae. 



In the physiological part of the paper it was pointed out — 



(1) That the natural movements of the echini exhibit great co-or- 

 dination, and further, that Echinoderms when inverted always right 

 themselves. 



(2) That Echinoderms endeavour to escape from injury in a direct 

 line from the source of irritation. 



(3) That the pedicels, spines, and pedicellariEe approximated when 

 any part of the surface of the shell was irritated. 



(4) That severe internal or external irritation had a powerful influence 

 on the spines and pedicels. 



(5) That starfish and echini, when their eye-spots are intact, crawl 

 towards the light. 



(6) That detached rays of starfish act in the same way as the entire 

 animal, while division of the radial nerves destroys co-ordination among 

 the rays. 



(7) That if echini be divided into several portions, the pedicels, spines, 

 and pedicellarios of these portions continue to exhibit local reflex irrita- 

 bility ; and if a portion contains an entire row of pedicels, it is able to 

 crawl about and, when inverted, to right itself. 



1881. N 



