14 G- O. Sårs. 



ducts open on the surface of the sphere with a small circular 

 orifice, from which a granulated matter is generally seen to 

 protrude. It seems to me beyond doubt that the above- 

 named ducts serve for evacuating the contents of the inner body, 

 and the latter is also seen in some spheres to be reduced 

 to a minimal size, and in some cases to have altogether 

 disappeared, only the ducts with their cup-shaped proximal 

 pieces being left. As to the inner body or globule from 

 which the ducts issue, it never exhibits any trace of 

 cleavage, and its consistency seems to be much firmer than 

 that of the true ova. Only a minimal quantity of a weak 

 solution of potash mingled with the water in which the 

 oosphères are observed, suffices to cause the enclosed ova 

 at once to swell up and to dissolve gradually, whereas no 

 perceptible alteration is seen to occur with the spermato- 

 spheres, except a slight clearing up of the enclosed body. 

 On being suitably prepared, the latter shows itself to con- 

 sist of 2 different substances, a rather thick and compact, 

 nearly homogenous cortical layer, and a coarsely granulated 

 central mass, apparently composed of small, highly refractive 

 cellular bodies. The boundary-line between these 2 substances 

 becomes very sharply marked by a suitable staining with 

 carmine or hæmatoxylin, and it will then be clearly seen 

 that the central granular mass is immediately adjacent to 

 the base of the above-named cup-shaped pieces from which 

 the efferent ducts issue. It is this mass which I believe 

 represents the spermatic matter destined to fecundate the 

 ova contained in the oosphères, and for this purpose it 

 is quite slowly evacuated through the above-named ducts. 

 The mechanism of evacuation seems to be quite analogous 

 to that known in the spermatophores of Copepods, being 

 effected by an expulsive matter, which in this case is re- 



