64 MK. F. E. BEDDAED OX THE A^S^ATOMY AND 



arrangement of the setae, M. Perrier directed attention to the variability of the gene- 

 rative system, and divided the Oligochaeta terricola into three main groups : — (1) 

 Lombriciens preclitelliens, (2) Lomlriciens intraclitelUens, and (3) Lomhriciens post- 

 cliteUiens ; in the first of these the ducts of the testes open in front of the clitellum, 

 in the second group they open within it, in the third they open behind. The number 

 and position of the copulatory pouches, the characters of the vascular system, and so 

 forth, serve to subdivide these three orders into genera and into species ; even the 

 species are found to differ by definite internal characters, generally the number and 

 structure of the copulatory pouches. 



Being anxious to secure a specimen of Lumlricus microchmta, I wrote to the Rev. G. 

 R. Fisk, C.M.Z.S., of Breakwater, Cape Town, who most kindly secured and sent to me a 

 fine living specimen of the worm, which arrived in perfect safety at the end of August 

 last. Mr. Fisk had previously brought the matter before the Philosophical Society of 

 Cape Town ' in order to obtain information as to the way in which a specimen could 

 be got. In the discussion which followed, a number of interesting facts respecting the 

 occurrence of these gigantic creatures were made known, which are well worth repeating 

 here ; I quote the following passages : — " Professor Guthrie could vouch for Earthworms 

 of 4 feet in length, though he believed they only appeared after very heavy rains. He 

 remembered going down to Port Elizabeth in 187G, and when near Jansenville he was 

 surprised to see a number of these monstrous worms creeping about on the ground, 

 which was then very wet. These worms were quite 4 feet long, and on lifting one of 

 them on his stick both ends hung to the ground ; that must have been nearly 6 feet, 

 though of course when lifted on the stick it was stretched out. 



" Mr. Bolus said that he had seen a similar thing in 1874 .... immediately after 

 excessively heavy rains. The whole of the road for some distance was thinly covered 

 with these worms, there being some hundred or two of them. These worms were 

 about as thick as one's fore finger, and about 5 feet in length. The soil was Karroo 

 soil, and was usually extremely dry. The colour of the worms was somewhat lighter 

 than the ordinary Earthworms, and was of an ash-grey tint. Mr. Trimen, in Natal, 

 had seen large Earthworms of from 2 to 3 feet in length after heavy rains. They were 

 of a green tint, and presented a most unpleasant appearance." 



Another piece of information respecting these worms is contained in a letter kindly 

 addressed to me from a gentleman resident in Kleinpoort ; of the occurrence of these 

 creatures Mr. de Witt Meulen says, " These worms appear only one, two, or three times 

 a year . . . when the ground has been thoroughly soaked by an abundant downpour of 

 rain. . . . They never seem to retui-n into the earth, but to be killed within six hours 

 by the heat of the sun. . . . The ground here is very hard, chiefly clay, and when any 

 water is found under it it is invariably brackish. I may add that no domestic animal 

 whatever — dogs, pigs, fowls, &c. — touch them." 



' Reported in ' The Cape Times ' for Thursday, May 29th, 1884 ; see also ' Nature,' Oct. 9th, 1884, p. 570. 



