824 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON [Nov. 3, 



the gland, and which may be regarded as its duct, is hypertrophied 

 compared to what it is in Lumbricus. In the dorsal series ot" 

 nephridia this muscular duct is extremely long, and before perfora- 

 ting the body-wall it gives oif a minute csecum which extends 

 beyond (dorsal to) the external orifice ; in the most anterior seg- 

 ments of the body this diverticulum is not present (Plate LII. fig. 4). 

 In the ventral series of nephridia the terminal tnuscular duct is very 

 short, but it is connected with, and opens into, a large sac-like 

 diverticulum (Plate LII. fig. 5) about equal in length to the muscular 

 duct of the dorsal nephridia, and which lies, not beyond the setae, 

 but on the same side of them as the nephridinm itself. 



The differences above indicated are absolutely distinctive of the 

 two series of nephridia : wherever these organs opened by the 

 ventral pair of setae they were found to have a large diverticulum 

 developed at the expense of the terminal duct, which is in conse- 

 quence short ; wherever they opened by the dorsal pair of setae, the 

 muscular duct was long, the caecum short, projecting on to the further 

 side of the setae. 



§ Generative Apparatus. 



The male generative apparatus of A. novee zelandicB as well as the 

 other two species consists of two pairs of testes, two pairs of vasa 

 deferentia, with which are connected a prostatic gland and a number 

 of peculiarly modified setae. The position of the several glands 

 and their ducts are shown in the accompanying drawing (fig. 3, 

 p. 825). 



The testes are situated in segments 11 and 12, and have the form of 

 racemose glands composed of a number of spherical acini. When the 

 body is opened the testes are seen to extend above the dorsal vessel 

 but are not united together ; the testis of each side is free from its 

 fellow ; they are attached by a stalk to the anterior mesenterv of 

 the segment which they occupy ; in the tenth and eleventh segments 

 are the funnels of the vasa deferentia ; the pair of funnels of each 

 segment are close together on either side of the median line and just 

 above the nerve-cord ; the margins of the funnel are extremely 

 folded and complicated, which renders their detection a matter of 

 great ease ; it is rather curious to find that the anterior pair of 

 funnels are situated in the segment in front of lliat which contains 

 the anterior pair of testes, but a similar condition has been recorded 

 in other Earthworms. It must be noted that the funnels of the 

 vasa deferentia are entirely independent of the testes ; they project 

 freely into the interior of their respective segments, and there 

 is no possibility of regarding the testes as an expanded portion 

 of the true funnel of the vasa deferentia. The testes therefore in 

 this Earthworm are the real sexual glands and are not the homo- 

 logues of the so-called " testes" of Lnmbricus, which are merely the 

 dilated ends of the vas-deferens funnels. As is well known, tiie real 

 testes of the common Earthworm are four minute bodies, which 

 discharge their contents into the sac-like termination of the vasa 

 deferentia, aud seem to disajtpear when the animal is mature ; it is 



