of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



291 



one genital aperture (</.-ap.). In the cod each ovary or testis is supported 

 to the roof of the abdominal cavity by a mesentery, which is attached 

 longitudinally to the swim-bladder. The stomach and gut are similarly 

 supported by a mesentery that hangs between the genital mesenteries. 

 All three mesenteries are together connected to the union of the two 

 ovaries (or testes). The rectum is supported by mesentry to the inferior 

 part of the united ovaries. The two ovarian mesenteries are continued 

 posteriorly as a single mesentery joined superiorly to the roof of the 

 abdominal cavity, and extending to the hind extremity of the post- 

 abdomen, where it unites with the peritoneum. The hind lobes of the 

 ovary are attached, one on each side, to the mesentery. This mesentery 

 also includes the ureter and urinary bladder, and binds them to the floor 

 of the post-abdomen. The post- abdomen is thus divided longitudinally 

 into two quite separate compartments. 



This arrangement was found to hold exactly in the case of the second 

 hermaphrodite specimen. The mesenteries were arranged quite normally. 

 Since they are similarly arranged in both sexes, the substitution of one 

 half of the ovary by a testis did not involve any obnormal arrangement 

 of the mesenteries. 



When the wall of the ovary near the genital aperture was dissected off 

 it was seen (fig. 5) that the vas deferens from the hind part of the testis, 

 viz., V l .D 1 ., and that from the main testis, V.D., opened into a common 

 chamber, marked sm. in the drawing. The wall of this chamber is 

 smooth ; it is open below to the eggs in the ovary. Alongside the base 

 of the ventrally descending portion of the testis the tissue is deeply 

 honeycombed, and divided up with a network of stout fibres (h.-c). 

 The passage of the sperms to the exterior appears to be as follows : — They 

 pass from the upper smooth part to the honeycombed region, which pro- 

 bably acts as a sort of seminal receptacle, and from thence pass out along 

 the smooth lower wall to the genital opening (g.ap.). The wall of the 

 ovary near the genital aperture is smooth on the inside, whereas all the 

 remaining wall bears the ovarian folds. The smooth part forms a gather- 

 ing place for the ripe eggs, where they may collect away from the develop- 

 ing eggs, and when they may lie ready to be expelled. The smooth part 

 of the skin of the ovary is shown in fig. 1, sm. In fig. 5, which shows 

 the dissection of the hermaphrodite roe, the deflected sides are shown to 

 be on one side partly smooth and in part covered with ovarian folds (ov.f), 

 and on the anterior side smooth (sm.). The smooth parts are the 

 oviducal part. 



It is clear that in the asymmetrical hermaphrodite both male and 

 female organs will be functional, but it is also evident that they will not 

 be simultaneously ripe. In this case the testis is much further from 

 ripeness than is the ovary. Even although they should be ripe simul- 

 taneously, it is possible that the elements might not mix much, because 

 there is room for the ripe eggs to collect on the opposite side of the ovary 

 to that on which the testis is. 



In the first case, where the testis is attached to the anterior end of the 

 ovary, the former was farther from being ripe than was the ovary. It is 

 not likely that the sperms would be able to penetrate the ovary so long 

 as the ovary is large and distended. And as the facts indicate that the 

 ovary will be ripe first, it is conceivable to regard the ovary as function- 

 ing later in the spent condition as a vas deferens. 



Masterman* described two cases of hermaphroditism in the cod in the 

 Thirteenth Annual Report of the Fishery Board for Scotland, Pt. III., 

 p. 297. He also cites a number of other cases. In none of these was a 

 condition found similar to either of the specimens described above. In 



