IIY E. F. HALLMANN'. 



in moderatel}' cIdsp array, almost 

 at right an,i;les; when (hy, it is hard 

 and brittle. The core occupies never 

 less than halt' the diameter of the 

 branches, and the radial tibres 

 seldom exceed 1 nnn. in length. 

 The latter, whicli are connected 

 only very sparsely b}' paucispicular 

 transverse fibi'es (of a single spicule's 

 length), vary in stoutness from about 

 110 to 190/x or so, and are composed 

 almost solely of spicules, — their 

 spongin being insufficient in ([uan- 

 tity to form an external sheath, and 

 becoming discernible only after 

 staining. The fibres of the central 

 axis, which also are but very scantily 

 provided with spongin, have their 

 spicules less closely compacted than 

 the radial fibres, and form so dense 

 a lattice-like reticulation that, ex- 

 cept in moderatel}' thin sections, the 

 outlines of individual fibres can 

 seldom be distinguished, and open 

 meshes do not appear. 



Meyasclpvps. — These are almost 

 exclusively oxea, slightly and usu- 

 ally somewhat angulately curved, 

 fusiform, with gradually and regu- 

 larly tapered, nearly always acutely- 

 pointed extremities; but strongyla 

 and scarcer styli also occur — more 

 especially in the stalk, where the 

 proportional numbei' of the former 

 may exceed one in fifteen. In the 



, ,, , ... 'l\•xt-fi>^ 1. — Trucln/cliKlus sca- 



stalk also, occasional anisoxea are /„.o.,„„, :^ieaascle'ies: a, from 



tJie stalk; h, from the branches. 



