350 ME. F. E. BBDDARD OKT EARTHWORMS [^"^Pl'- ^^, 



spermalo/oa sate inside. In having this open end the .sperm at ophore 

 of Stvlihnannia agrees with the spermatophores of all(?) other Ohgo- 

 chajta. The Avails of the sperm atophore behind the thickenings at 

 the neck are thin ; their constitution suggests that they are not 

 hardened in the specimens which I have examined. The walls are 

 of a granular appearance, being compacted entirely of smaller and 

 laro-er, more or less obvious, granules, some of which are more, and 

 others hai-dly at all, stained by borax-carmine. The spermatozoa 

 within the spermatophore closely hll the case, and for the far 

 greater part, if not entirely, lie with their long axes parallel to 

 the long axis of the sac. At the head-end, but after the beak- 

 like process in which the spermatophore terminates in front, there 

 are a quantity of greenish-black granules imbedded in the \\alls of 

 the spermathecal sac. I have always seen these pigmented gra- 

 nules in the spermatophores, and with equal constancy at the head 

 part and nowhere else. The point is of some little importance, as 

 will be seen presently. xUthoxigh the interior of the spermathecal 

 sac is densely packed with spermatozoa, they do not protrude any- 

 where through its walls. In this characteristic the spermatophore 

 of Stulilmannia is more like those of the Lumbricidae than those 

 of the Tubificidae, or its near ally Polytoreutus. Its soft and 

 collapsible looking walls are, however, different from the hard 

 chitinous cases of the spermatophores of Lumhricus, Criodrilus, 

 Ahna, and Botlirloneuron. It may, however, on looking back at 

 its various characters, be regarded as intermediate in form and 

 structure between the two types of spermatophores which I have 

 briefly detailed above. 



The question now arises, — Is the wall of the spermatophore 

 formed out of materials provided by the spermathecal sac or does 

 this material, as it does at least to some extent in Tuhifcv and its 

 allies, reach the interior of the spermathecal from some other 

 source, such as the spermiducal glands ? It seems to me that the 

 evidence, as I read it, points to a double origin for the material of 

 the walls of the spermatophores. 1 have already briefly called 

 attention to the granular and apparently soft walls of the sperma- 

 tophore. An examination with liigh powers of the microscope 

 shows that among the irregular granules of which the wall is 

 mainly composed behind the neck are bodies which seem to be of 

 the nature of nuclei. I cannot in fact distinguish them from 

 the nuclei of the elongated and irregularly shaped cells of the 

 lining membrane of the spermathecal sac. The size, general 

 shape, and reaction to the staining reagent were identical in both 

 cases, while the cells of the inside of the spermathecal sac were 

 evidently undergoing some breaking up. I may remark at this 

 point, that some observations of Dr. Michaelsen support this 

 interpretation of the characters of the wall of the spermatophore. 



Dr. Michaelsen ^ noticed constantly in the spermathecal sac of 



' " Beschreibung der von Herrn Dr. Fr. Stuhlmann aiif Sansibar unci dem 

 gegeniiberliegenden Festlande gesammelteii Terricolen," JB. Hamb, wiss. 

 Anst. ix. p. 27. 



