198 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



dages on each side of its really beautiful parent. Of the 

 parentage of these eggs there is no doubt ; but beyond that 

 all else about them to me is dark. I also regret I must leave 

 those figured at 6 and 7 (sketch exhibited) in the position of 

 those "whom many fathers share," from not being able to 

 affiliate them. The one figured at 6 occurred to me both at 

 Fowey, in Cornwall, and at Peterhead, in Aberdeenshire. At 

 the expense, I fear, of being tiresome, I cannot resist the 

 opportunity of adding, that in the course of my turning up the 

 stones between tide-marks, after the nests of Lamellaria ten- 

 taculata. in March 1852, at Wick, I observed bluish masses 

 of jelly-like matter, in which light yellowish spots showed 

 through the transparent envelope. At first I took them for 

 masses of ova of shell, or Nudibranchs ; but on examining 

 one carefully, I observed that at each end of the elongated 

 mass there was a hole, and I fancied I could see something 

 move in it. On passing my knife under it, a small dark, olive- 

 green, iridescent worm, eel-like, glided out. This I secured, 

 and found it to be one of the Nemertes, probably N. gracilis, 

 so abundant under stones, where black, decomposing vegetable 

 matter is mingled with sand. From year to year ever since I 

 have noticed these jelly-like masses, with the attendant worms. 

 Last night (3d May 1860), I found five or six nests of them 

 under one stone, and as they were farther advanced than 

 those I first found, instead of the Nemertes being in the centre 

 of the mass, they lay either close alongside of it, or partly 

 across it, thus showing attachment to its nest. I have often 

 transferred these worms and nests to my aquaria, but have 

 never been able to get the eggs to hatch. As they are gene- 

 rally on large stones, I am obliged to use force to get a piece 

 sufficiently small for my purpose ; this, added to not being 

 able to associate them with proper material, and in the posi- 

 tion they occupy in their native element, will account for 

 failure. The ova are arranged in two rows, as may be seen 

 through the glairy mass, and in trefoil-like spots. These 

 masses are from two to three inches in length, and about one- 

 fourth of an inch across, and high. They are very tough and 

 elastic. 



Dr T. Strethill Wright stated that he had, in company 



