Digestive Processes in Arachnids. By II. M. Bernard. 441 
just been mentioned as the final product of the digestion of the food- 
globules. 
In another specimen of Galeodes (probably G. Araneoides ) the 
food-globules were found to be no longer homogeneous globules like 
fat-drops, but mulberry-like, i. e. composed of a compact round or 
oval mass of granules, which, unlike the typical food-globules, were 
stainable with hmmatoxylin (fig. 7). I can only account for this by 
assuming that there was some change in the diet. It looked almost 
as if the blood coagulum might have been taken into the cells as it 
was, without being converted into the typical form. These staining 
food masses were slowly disintegrated, passing through a stage which 
resembled the typical food-globule, but was slightly greenish yellow ; 
these were slowly broken down till nothing but the typical crystal- 
like bodies remained. These, as usual, were excreted either at the 
tips or at the sides of the cells, according to the position of the 
mass of food in the cell. In this case, there was a distinct tendency 
of the cells to form vacuoles in which these mulberry -like bodies were 
dissolved. The protoplasm between these mulberry masses was so 
vacuolated as to have a frothy look (fig. 7). I am inclined to think 
that these mulberry masses are rather unusual, and that this reticu- 
lated frothy appearance represents the normal structure of the cells, 
and indicates the usual size of the food-globules. 
In this specimen I found clear traces of the re-ingulfing by the 
cells of the central canal of the food-masses which had broken away 
from other digesting cells. How easily these mulberry-like masses 
break loose can be judged from fig. 7, which shows one such held in 
by a very thin layer of protoplasm. Both the central canal and the 
stercoral pocket were tilled with these detached food-masses. 
The last case which requires description is that of a species of 
Rhax. The digesting cells show no trace of food at all. They 
are, however, not shrunk together, but maintain very nearly the 
same shape they would have if filled with food-globules. This, of 
course, is only possible by the persistence of the vacuoles in which 
the food had been digested. We therefore find the cells composed of 
a reticulum of protoplasmic strands in the meshes of which the food 
globules are usually dissolved. They stand up from the basement 
membrane like sponges, fig. 8. I am inclined to think that this 
may explain the reticular structure of the internal protoplasm of 
many infusoria, which, without such an arrangement, would have to 
vary in size according to the amount of food ingulfed, whereas we 
know that the external layers are often far too specialized to allow of 
any such variations. 
Phalangiid^. 
The digestive processes of this group have been worked out by 
Plateau,* but naturally from the old point of view, that the digesting 
* “Notes sur les phenomenes de la digestion chez les Phalangides,” Bull. Acad. 
Belg., xlii. (1870) pp. 710-54. 
