ON THE TRYPANOSOME OF THE LITTLE OWL. 
169 
tlie free flagellum 7-10 ^ ; it may be, of course, that these 
particular examples are not really quite as large as that, for 
instance, of fig. 10, making allowance for some contraction. 
All the individuals of this large type which we have found 
in wet films have the same general shape and appearance — 
that of a long, rather thick spindle with finely tapering 
extremities; and this form agrees closely with the appearance 
of these individuals as they were observed alive. Hence we 
feel sure that on Giemsa-stained smears, those individuals 
which closely resemble the above-described parasites on wet 
films can be correctly regarded as having* retained the 
typical and normal appearance ; and it is from such standard 
examples that we have taken the measurements given above. 
This is an important point to note, because these large para- 
sites are difficult to obtain well fixed and stained on a Giemsa 
smear. Not uncommonly they are found of the weirdest 
shape and appearance ; we have not the least doubt that such 
individuals have been deformed and distorted in making the 
preparation. Such parasites are generally very much flat- 
tened out, while the aflagellar end is blunt and broad and has 
quite lost its true shape ; sometimes the whole trypanosome 
may appear nearly rectangular. It is quite useless to figure 
such individuals ; Zupitza ( 19 ) has given (fig. 49, pi. 5), an ex- 
cellent illustration of how far removed from its true shape one 
of these large forms (which he regards as “T. ziemanni ”) 
may appear on a dry, Giemsa-stained smear. Unfortunately, 
from his description Zupitza apparently quite fails to realise 
that the individual he figures is hopelessly flattened out and 
distorted. 
The question of the flattening-out of these large forms, 
which is, of course, liable to occur on a “ dry ” film, has 
an important bearing, we think, on another point. In 
the memoir on the trypanosome of the chaffinch and redpoll, 
the corresponding large blue forms there described showed in 
most cases a characteristic structural peculiarity of the cyto- 
plasm, namely its tendency to show an arrangement into 
longitudinal bands, dark and light alternating, the former 
