ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 29 
Biological Laboratory.—I now come to the subject of a very 
important discovery. Speaking of this discovery, a leading 
scientific man in London this year classed it with Réntgen’s dis- 
covery of the X rays, as amongst the most sensational that had 
been made during the past twelve months, and one that would 
lead to serious modifications of the views generally held about the 
marsupialia.” He was alluding to the discovery of a placenta in 
the bandicoot by Mr. J. P. Hill, the Demonstrator at the Uni- 
versity Biological Laboratory. This is perhaps one of the most 
important, if not the most important, scientific discovery as yet 
made in Australia. 
Mr. J. P. Hill has for some time past been engaged in studying 
the development of marsupials, especially with regard to the 
relations of thé fetal membranes. The most important result 
yielded by this investigation is the discovery of a true allantoic. 
placental connection in the bandicoot, Perameles obesula. A 
short preliminary account of this connection was read before the 
Linnean Society in November of last year. It was there shown 
that not only does the vascular allantoic fuse with the serous 
membrane, but that the latter in the region of the fusion disappears 
as a distinct layer, and the allantoic capillaries become closely 
applied to the surface of the uterine mucosa, and indeed dip into 
the latter as irregular and short vascular processes. These pro- 
cesses come into very close relation with the maternal capillaries 
of the uterus, and in this way transfusion can readily take place 
between the two blood streams. A distinct connection is thus 
established between fcetal and maternal tissues—a connection 
which not only allows the direct transmission of part of the nutrient 
material necessary for the growth of the embryo, but which also 
serves as a respiratory organ. Up to the discovery of this placental 
connection in the bandicoot, the absence of any such connection 
was universally regarded as one of the best established and most 
characteristic features in the marsupial organisation. In the 
majority of marsupials indeed, no such placental connection is 
ever developed, but in view of the condition in the bandicoot we 
