DISEASES IN GREENHOUSE 127 



spindle shaped. In the molting or shed- 

 ding of the skin, there is a marked change 

 in the case of the female, especially in the 

 posterior region of the body, which no 

 longer possesses a tail-like appendage. 

 Fertilization occurs soon after this molt, 

 and many radical changes occur in the 

 shape and structure of the organization of 

 the worm. The fertilized female in- 

 creases rapidly in breadth and becomes a 

 pearly white flask- or pear-shaped indi- 

 vidual. This creature is far from being 

 worm-like and may therefore be over- 

 looked by one unfamiliar with the life his- 

 tory of the eel worm. The adult male is 

 much like that of the larvae, being spindle 

 shaped in outline. The male does not 

 cause as much damage to root tissue as the 

 female, and its purpose in life seems to be 

 only that of fertilizing the female, for 



