THE GLASS-SPONGES. 



535 



handle, and spreading out in the water, grew the zoophyte, as he re- 

 garded the silicious whisp, and its bark-like envelop. Now, among 

 the polyps, known as Alcyonarians, is the Gorgonia, or Sea-fan, which 

 has an axis of a horn-like nature, and a crust of lime ; so he made of 

 this polyp, which he supposed constructed the axis and the case, an 

 Alcyonarian, allied to those polyps which build the Sea-fans. But the 

 difficulty was that, instead of a centre or core of keratose, with an 



Fig. 3. 



Euplectella Speciosa. The Venus Flower-Basket : A Glass Sponge. That on the right is 

 a portion of the natural size, intended to show the lace-like meshes. The full figure is about 

 half the natural size. 



