ox ANNELIDA. 93 



The cesophagus of the arenicola can, at the will of the 

 animal, be unrolled externally, and form a sort of proboscis, 

 all bristling with small tubercles. There are neither jaws nor 

 teeth. The stomach extends towards the tenth gill. Its 

 membrane is of a fine yellow colour, on which the vascular 

 net-work of which we have spoken, is very agreeably drawn. 

 At the anterior part of the body are on each side five blackish 

 pouches, which probably serve as testicles, and on the junc- 

 tion of the oesophagus and stomach are two other conical and 

 muscular pouches, of the use of which we are ignorant. The 

 eggs are small grains of a yellowish colour, which swim in 

 the interior of the body. 



This worm is very common on most sandy coasts. Fisher- 

 men employ it as the best bait for catching sea-fish. It even 

 forms an object of commerce, and is sold dear enough in 

 those places which do not produce it. It is found in the 

 sand, at about a foot and a half or two feet in depth. Its 

 retreat is discovered by small cordons of sand which it has 

 voided, and which close the orifice of its hole. Its external 

 colour is reddish, and it changes into a dark green. When 

 it is touched it emits a liquid, of the colour of bile, which 

 causes spots upon the fingers difficult to remove; but in the 

 month of August it only sends forth a milky fluid. On draw- 

 ing it rather slightly by the tail, the latter separates into seve- 

 ral articulations, without any appearance of tearing. 



The Amphinome is a genus of marine worms, originally 

 established by Bruguieres. The characters consist in an 

 elongated body, more or less flatted, each articulation of which 

 suppoils a pair of gills in the form of tufts, or little plumes, 

 and in a mouth without jaws. Each articulation supports 

 besides two tufts of hairs, or stiff setse, most frequently ac- 

 companied, each of them, with a fleshy filament more or less 

 long. The head supports a certain number of similar fila- 

 ments, and sometimes an ornament in the form of a crest. 



