466 Prof. Reid on the Vogmarus Islandicus. 



downwards, were about half an inch in length, were very imper- 

 fectly developed, and could scarcely be distinguished in the 

 strong fibrous membrane attached to the vertebrse along the line 

 of junction of these processes with the bodies of the vertebrse and 

 uniting all the transverse processes of the same row together. 

 These two strong fibrous laminae passed down on each side of the 

 kidneys, and converged along their lower edge so as to form 

 a canal inclosing them. There were no ribs present. The in- 

 ferior spinous processes of the vertebrse were slender and quite 

 flexible, presented the appearance of cartilage to the unaided 

 eye, were united together by a dense fibrous membrane, and 

 were directed obliquely backwards. The longest were situated 

 opposite to the vent, and were more than two inches in length. 

 About two-thirds of the cavity between each pair of vertebrse 

 formed by the junction of the cup-shaped excavations before and 

 behind, was filled up by a white gelatinous substance, of the 

 shape of a double cone like the cavity containing it, the apices 

 of which were attached to the bottoms of the cup-shaped exca- 

 vations, and in fact extended along a canal traversing the centre 

 of the bodies of the vertebrse, so that in this way the white 

 gelatinous-looking substance was continuous along the whole 

 length of the spinal column, and formed alternate bulgings and 

 contractions, — the bulgings corresponding to the widest part of 

 the bi-conical cavity between each pair of vertebrse, the contrac- 

 tions to the canal perforating the centre of the body of each ver- 

 tebra. This gelatinous substance was of the same structure as 

 that found in the corresponding position in other fishes, but it 

 was solid throughout, and contained no cavity in its interior for 

 holding fluid. It possessed little elasticity, was soft and readily 

 compressed, and could be broken down or torn into fragments 

 by the exertion of a very moderate force. On making a trans- 

 verse section of the body of one of the vertebrse (fig. 3), a 

 number of narrow bands, generally eighteen in number, are seen 

 radiating from a point near the centre to the circumference, 

 and one of these runs to each of the longitudinal ridges on the 

 external surface of the body of the vertebra. These radiating 

 bands begin at the outer edge of a ring surrounding the white 

 gelatinous substance occupying the centre of the body of the 

 vertebrse like the pith in the centre of the trunk of a dicotyle- 

 donous tree;. and the radiating bands may be compared to the 

 medullary rays passing from the pith towards the circumference 

 in the tree ; but they differ in this, that the radiating bands in 

 the vertebrse are composed, as we shall point out afterwards, of 

 a structure of a very different character from that constituting 

 the central gelatinous substance. Fig. 3 is a representation of 



