57 
which hardens on contact with sea-water. Probably, as Williamson 
thinks, the penis on each side displaces a quantity of the fluid into 
the vagina which on the withdrawal hardens and forms a solid 
plug keeping the sperms secure in the spermatheca till such time 
as spawning takes place. That part of the secretion which does not 
go to form the spermatic plug solidities in the spermatheca. 
The state of the ovaries in the soft female examined was quite 
characteristic. They were immature, pale white in colour, and the 
ova were very small showing no yolk. The following summary 
shows the state of the ovary in the soft females dissected by 
Williamson 2 — 
No. of 
Females 
Appearance of Or ary. 
Examined 
m Soft 
Condition. 
Immature. 
Pale White. 
White. Pale Orange. 
Small. 
Orange. 
Not Noted. 
GS 
19 
IS 
1 
13 9 
1 
1 
7 
The hard female presented on opening, a large coral-red ovary, 
which covered the whole upper surface of the creature. The ova 
were very large, and showed a large development of yolk. The 
spermathecae contained a small amount of the secreted matter as 
well as a large quantity of sperms. The latter appeared to be held 
together by some cementing matter, rendering them semi-solid as a 
whole. The spermatic plugs had disappeared from both vaginae, 
the contraction of the vulvte probably keeping out the sea water. 
The specimen would, without doubt, have come into spawn in a few 
weeks from the time of its capture. 
The testes of the soft male were small and immature. In 
section they revealed mother-cells, but no nature sperms. The vas 
deferens showed no spermatophores. In the hard specimens, bn the 
other hand, the testes were full and ripe. Sections showed that 
they were packed with mature sperms, ready for transmission to 
the vas deferens. The latter was distended with spermatophores 
and a few free sperms. A few adipose cells were seen also. The 
number of sperms in a packet was very variable, ranging from four 
to about as many hundreds. 
