344 THE SPONGIDA OR PORIFERA. 



whereas the general hue of the entire mass is yellowish-grey, and 

 its appearance porous and ' spongy.' 



" We placed the glass jar, having first removed its covering, 

 on the window-sash, so as to have the sponge between ourselves 

 and the sunlight ; and at once had the satisfaction of seeing that 

 our specimen, in spite of two days' knocking about by parcel 

 post, was not only living, but in a condition of wondrous activity. 

 The glass was so placed that we had a side view of the teat-like 

 projections, and issuing from the orifices of the latter we could 

 readily see, without the aid of a magnifying glass, a continual and 

 rapid rush of numberless particles ; these issued in a horizontal 

 column from each cone, and gradually broke up into clouds of 

 minute specks about an inch from the sponge. 



" The sight immediately reminded us of the popular pictures 

 of volcanoes in a state of eruption. If a number of such draw- 

 ings were reproduced in miniature, and placed one above the 

 other, horizontally, and pointing all the same way, a very fair 

 idea w^ould be given of our Halichojidria panicca at work. 



" It is of great interest to note Dr. Grant's original observa- 

 tions as to this matter, since he it was who first cleared up the 

 true nature of the Sponges. He was examining another species — 

 Spongia coalita — and witnessed the same spectacle that we have 

 attempted to describe. 



" He says : — ' On moving the watch-glass, so as to bring one 

 of the apertures on the side of the sponge fully into view, I 

 beheld for the first time the splendid spectacle of this living 

 fountain vomiting forth from a circular cavity an impetuous 

 torrent of liquid matter, and hurling along, in rapid succession, 

 opaque masses, which it strewed everywhere around. The beauty 

 and novelty of such a scene in the animal kingdom long arrested 

 my attention, but after twenty-five minutes of constant observa- 

 tion I was obliged to withdraw my eye from fatigue, without 

 having seen the torrent for one instant change its direction, or 

 diminish in the slightest degree the rapidity of its course. I 

 continued to watch the same orifice, at short intervals, for five 

 hours, sometimes observing it for a quarter of an hour at a time, 

 but still the stream rolled on with a constant and equal velocity.' 



"The sii^ht whicli Dr. Grant described so vividly we witnessed 



