Miscellanea Zoologica. 



531 



membrane, and armed in the centre with a strong spine, which can 

 be compared to nothing more aptly than to a cobler's awl in minia- 

 ture, the part representing the handle being very dark, and the 

 point transparent and crystalline, (Fig. 2, 4.) This apparatus is 

 placed within the intestine, is visible only when this is compressed, 

 and is, as I believe, stomachical, having some distant analogy with 

 the proper digestive organs of the Laplysia and Bulla ; and in con- 

 firmation of this view it may be remarked, that the oesophageal part 

 of the intestine appears to be simple, while the inferior portion ex- 

 hibits a plaited structure internally, (Fig. 1, 3.) In our PI. XVII. 

 Fig. 5, this part is represented as being suddenly narrowed, and after 

 descending a little it bends and ascends for some way, when it is 

 again deflected and ends abruptly in the body ; and such undoubt- 

 edly were the appearances in the specimen from which the drawing 

 was made, and in others which I have examined ; but such a dis- 

 position of parts is rather uncommon, the usual course being for the 

 intestine to descend tortuously to the anus. I believe that in the 

 contrary instances, the natural adhesions of the alimentary tube have 

 been ruptured by the compression to which the body had been sub- 

 jected, and that by its contractions, the intestine was then forced 

 into this unnatural position, for that the intestine terminates and 

 opens at the posterior extremity is certain, the contents having re- 

 peatedly been seen to be evacuated there through a small pore. While 

 examining specimens, a large portion of the intestine will occasionally 

 be seen rolling itself from the mouth, like a very long proboscis, un- 

 til perhaps fully one half of the tube is evolved, — a fact which I 

 also attribute to the compression of the plates of glass, for I have 



