BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



275 



true pharynx, to which is attached the superior end of the oesophagus. 

 It is pierced by a round aperture opening into the oesophageal cavity. 

 On the periphery of this opening are disposed six, sometimes seven, radi- 

 ating papilla, hard like the capsule itself, with dorsal cutting edges. 

 They are real fixed lancets, performing a function similar to those of 

 the surgical instrument known under the name of bdelloineter of Scar- 

 landiere. 



The oesophagus (Plate I, Fig. 5, c) is relatively short, extending 

 from the pharynx to the middle of the neck 5 it is club-shaped and very 

 thick. Its lumen appears to us tetraquetral rather than triquetral, as 

 among other nematoid worms. In fact, the pharyngeal insertion of the 

 tube is crucial, i. e., with four, not three, branches (Plate I, Fig. 4, A). 

 The mucous membrane is surrounded by a longitudinal muscular layer, 

 which, in turn, is enveloped by a layer of very stout radiating fibers, 

 longer inferiorly. The whole is inclosed in a structureless membrane. 



The upper extremity of the intestine into which the oesophagus opens is 

 very wide. It is continued by a straight, wide, cylindrical tube, lined, in 

 its entire extent, with brownish, distinctly nucleated cells, and termi- 

 nates in a short obliqne rectum, having the form of an inverted cone. 

 The anus is situated at the base of the very short tail which measures 

 only h to .2 mm (.004 — .008 inch) in length. It appears to open most com- 

 monly on the dorsal aspect, that aspect which is opposite to the incli- 

 nation of the head and neck or to the vulva. This is due to the spiral 

 twisting of the female body when the uterus is laden with eggs. The 

 anus of the male opens near the notching of the caudal bursa posteriorly. 

 This shows that in the male also the ventral aspect is uppermost, which 

 in the female is indicated by the vulva. In both sexes the anus is very 

 small; and in fact an animal food, made up of the blood of the host, 

 ought to furnish a very small quantity of solid waste. 



Nervous system. — The nervous system of Syngamus trachealis, like 

 that of the larger number of the higher nematodes, consists of a 

 flattened ganglion forming a collar about the oesophagus, and giving off 

 fourquite symmetrical cords anteriorly and four posteriorly. The former 

 pass to the mouth parts, the latter to the digestive and reproductive 

 organs. 



Secretory apparatus. — The most eminent helminthologists, among them 

 Bastian, Schneider, and E. Perrier, have seen in certain nematodes 

 secretory structures composed of utricles sometimes double, provided 

 with a canal which opens on the skin in the middle of a papilla. These 

 structures have been observed near the posterior extremity of the body 

 in the male, and in the region of the neck in both sexes. We have 

 sought them without success in the Syngamus of the pheasants. Once, 

 however, we saw, quite distinctly, an oblique canal opening on the skin 

 a little below the oesophageal nervous ring and arising from a glandular 

 mass situated in the region, where, in Plate I, Fig. 5, we have shown 

 the position of the longitudinal fusiform muscular fibers. Along the 

 oesophagus and under the same muscular layers there is situated an 

 elongated club-shaped gland, which opens at the base of the pharyngeal 

 capsule (Plate I, Fig. 5, d). This is a true salivary gland j its walls are 

 lined with ovoid, doubly-nucleated cells. 



Reproductive apparatus : Genital organs of the male (Plate II, Fig. 

 7). — In the nematodes generally the testes consist of a long tube uni- 

 formly cylindrical in its whole extent from .1 to .2 mm (.004 — .008 inch) 

 in diameter. In the male syngame of the pheasants it presented 

 quite characteristic differences from the known type. It is possible to 

 see, through the translucent tissues of the body, and still better when 



