20 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



district appear to have been made as yet, I should like to 

 record here the great abundance of the curious Gregarine 

 Ancora (Anchorina, Ming.) sagittata in the gut of the 

 common Capitella of Port Erin sands, and of the ( ?) cilia te 

 Anoplophrya in the gut of Cirratulus." 



Dr. Eoaf's Physiological Work. 



Dr. H. E. Eoaf continued his investigations of last 

 year* on the digestive processes in marine invertebrates. 

 The results so far are partly in the form of observations 

 on the nature of the food and the manner of feeding of 

 several species, but more especially of Echinus esculentus, 

 and partly experiments directed to determine the presence 

 of acid or alkali in the alimentary canal during digestion. 

 This latter investigation was carried out by using food 

 dyed with chemical indicators, so that on examination 

 after various periods of digestion the degree of the 

 reaction could be determined. These experiments also 

 gave some information as to the reaction of the organs, 

 other than digestive, as the indicators when absorbed 

 were capable of colouring the tissues in general. 



A large white anemone (Actinoloba dianthus) was fed 

 with pieces of fibrin soaked in methylene blue, with the 

 result that the tentacles, and to a less extent the mouth- 

 disc, became stained in a most striking manner. The blue 

 tint is remarkably persistent, and remained unaltered for 

 seven months, while the anemone was under observation 

 in the tanks. Mr. Chadwick states that the colour has 

 recently become re-distributed, and is now confined to a 

 series of bands running circularly around the body-wall, 

 and especially at the upper end close to the bases of the 

 tentacles. 



* Since published in the Bio-Chemical Journal, Vol. iii., 1908, pp. 462-472. 



