388 SELECTED NOTES FROM 



If an object is worth the labour of preparing, surely it deserves 

 finishing in a neat manner. For some years I have used zinc 

 white with a red or black band. J. Phillips. 



Some Slides from Jersey, contributed by Mr. W. Pumphrey. 



My contribution for this year to the Postal Microscopical 

 Society consists of twelve slides prepared at the Biological Labo- 

 ratory, Jersey, and may, I think, be taken as fair specimens of the 

 style of work of that establishment. They are selected from three 

 of the lower orders — viz., the Sponges ; the Actiniae ; and the 

 Echinoderms. 



Sponges.— The sponges form almost, if not quite, the lowest of 

 animal tribes. They consist of a gelatinous mass, supported and 

 maintained in position by a skeleton composed of spicules. Some- 

 times the spicules are siliceous and sometimes calcareous. The 

 simplest form is that of a small mass of gelatinous matter, sup- 

 ported by these spicules, so formed as to imbibe from the outside 

 through minute passages the liquid (whether it be salt water or 

 fresh) in which the organism lives, and from which it derives its 

 nourishment ; the liquid being ejected from a central orifice. By 

 a series of buddings the simple cell becomes built up into a large 

 aggregate of individuals. 



No. I is an entire specimen of a sponge, with calcareous 

 spicules. The specimen consists of a small group of associated 

 individuals, in different stages of growth. The spicules in this 

 species are trifid. 



No. 2 is a section of another calcareous sponge ; the spicules 

 are more robust ; and in making this section the greater part of 

 the spicules have been broken. Those in the interior of the 

 organism are very much larger than those near the exterior, and 

 which by their close aggregation and interlacing give firmness to 

 the exterior part. 



No. 3 is a section of a siliceous sponge ; here the spiculse are 

 of two distinct forms. Scattered through the mass are minute 

 spiculse, having four points, while others of simple acicular form 

 are scattered irregularly about. The specimen also contains large 

 numbers of Sterrasters, or oval spicules, which are closely aggre- 

 gated towards the exterior of the organism. 



