18 Ohservallons on the Natural History 



intestine ; but whether this be the excretory duct of the testicle 

 could not be determined. From an observation of M. Schrei- 

 ber, the authors conjecture, that the testes of the proteus are 

 subject to some remarkable changes with the increase of years, 

 like those of the aquatic salamander, in which the testicle at first 

 is formed of one spherical body ; afterwards of two, and subse- 

 quendy of three ; and not of two only, as M. Cuvier has stated. 

 The position and form of this organ may be seen in Fig. 1. 

 Plate VII. {g). 



The ovaria of the female are situated under the kidneys, and by 

 the side of the rectum. They are enveloped in peritoneum, and 

 have connection both with the spine and air-bladder. In protei 

 recently dead, and not yet put in spirits, the ovaries appear an 

 oblong mass of albumen, in which are suspended a vast number 

 of minute ova. The oviducts do not commence near the heart, 

 as in frogs and salamanders, but towards the anterior third of 

 the trunk. They descend by the side of the spine, along the 

 exterior margins of the kidneys ; and having reached the poste- 

 rior extremity of the kidneys, they approximate and terminate 

 into the intestine by a common aperture, a small distance from 

 the anus. In the proteus dissected by M. Cuvier, he describes 

 *' les oviductus tres-longs, et faisant beaucoup de festons, com- 

 me ceux de la salamandre ;"" but the authors have not met with 

 such appearances. In protei preserved in spirits, the oviducts 

 were always found straight ; and in those recently dead they 

 were much longer, but did not form those twistings and wind- 

 ings which the ducts of the salamander make before they enter 

 the intestine. See Plate VT. Fig. 3. 



8. Of the Organs of Secretion. 



The kidneys of the proteus are so long as to occupy the 

 lower half of the trunk. In structure, they much resemble those 

 of the .salamander ; but in their anterior part are two curvatures 

 or sinuses, in which the two air-bladders are respectively lodged. 

 The ureters are much convoluted anteriorly, but extend in a 

 straight line towards the posterior half of the organs, where they 

 gradually approach each other, and finally unite together at their 

 termination by one common aperture in the intestine. It must 

 also be remarked, that, in the male proteus, as in the salaman- 

 der, the ureters commence high up on the spine, and descend 



