56 Notes on the Preceding Paper. 



In one individual I observed two rather large oval eggs in 

 the tube, and another adhering to the outside of the tube at 

 the top. These were watched for several days in succession. 

 One morning the outside egg had disappeared, and could not 

 be traced. The animal did not live long enough for the develop- 

 ment of the two others to be witnessed. 



The disk may require some bending of the body to open 

 it, but it is retained open in all sorts of positions. I have seen 

 the horn-like points which Mr. Gosse describes, but I am at a 

 loss to tell what becomes of them when the creature moves, as, if 

 a glimpse is caught of them one moment, they usually disappear 

 the next. I think the antenna has a piston to which the setae are 

 attached, and which carries them up and down at the will of the 

 creature. On learning that Mr. Gosse had failed to see these 

 bristles (setae), I invited a microscopic friend, and we examined 

 four specimens. In three they were conspicuous with careful 

 illumination and a power of 180, and in one not. They were 

 also seen by Professor Williamson, at Manchester. It is evident 

 they were not everted at Torquay, or they could not have escaped 

 so admirable a microscopist as Mr. Gosse, and one of my speci- 

 mens did not exhibit them during many examinations. The pro- 

 boscis is very flexible, and in one instance my wife saw it bent 

 like the forefinger when half closed. My wife also noticed an ap- 

 parent connection between the inner tubes of the proboscis, and 

 a fine line running round the margin of the disk ; which would 

 be consistent with the theory of its being a respiratory organ as 

 well as a feeler. Upon the minute anatomy of the creature 

 I can add nothing to Mr. Gosse' s valuable observations, except 

 that the form of the gizzard was one reason why I at first con- 

 sidered it a Limnias. 



My specimens have usually been very free in exposing their 

 disks, much less easily frightened than the Melicerta, and if 

 made to shut up and retract by striking the table, willing to 

 try their fortune again in a few seconds. Once, however, I had 

 a highly nervous lady to deal with, and even a loud noise in 

 the street, or slamming a door in the next house, made her 

 retire in alarm. The same effect was produced by the striking 

 of a small German clock. These creatures have no difficulty in 

 turning about in their tubes, and it is not uncommon to find 

 one opening to the right, retracting suddenly, and then opening 

 to the left, or making other changes equally inconvenient to 

 any one attempting to sketch an accurate portrait. 



Their food consists of very small objects, and is often so 

 colourless as to give no aid to the investigation of their internal 

 parts. This circumstance, together with the transparency of 

 the tissues, renders minute observation so difficult as to give 



