SPERMATOPHOKES IX EARTHWORMS. 417 



to the " parutei'ine organs " of Tapeworms. It may be that this 

 interpretation is correct. But I do not myself hold this view 

 for other reasons, which will be explained. That portion of the 

 wall of the spermatophore which is lettered " Ch" m text-fig. lo6 

 seems to me to give the clue to the real nature of the walL It 

 will be noted that we have a thickish and structux-eless layer 

 which is surrounded on both sides by cells. The clear layer 

 is not much stained by the carmine, and is quite reasonably 

 to be regai'ded as the actual luaaltered structureless wall of the 



Text-fiii. 136. 



Nr 



■Ch. 



Transverse section thvongli wall o£ sperniatopliore of Flieretima montana much 

 more highly magnified than in text-fig. 135. 



Ch. Chitinons layer. N. Nuclei of phagocytes (?). 



spermatophore, probably of chitinous nature. Elsewhere the 

 same structureless substance is found which shows evidence of 

 being hollowed out. These facts thus briefly stated lead me to 

 the inference that we have here a spermatophore in which the 

 original chitinous wall is being gradually eaten away by leuco- 

 cytes. I do not see any other view which fits in so well with both 

 fact and probability. 



Indeed, the only other interpretation of the histological facts, 

 which is not very much borne out by the relations of the cells to the 

 membi^ane, is to suppose that the case of the spermatojihore is 

 built round a mass of sperm lying in the spermatheca, a suggestion 

 which, apart from the actual facts, is not at all probable. I feel 



