100 THE FAMILY 01' TlIK UKSMACIDINAE. 



Unluckily the confusion has been increased by the fact that 

 two great monographs were in preparation at about the 

 same time, one in England and one in Germany. Bow- 

 erbank , who had long since published studies on Sponges 

 in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, and in 

 the Transactions of the Royal Society , qualified by him- 

 self, as „desultory observations on their structure", com- 

 pleted these studies by the publication of the first volume 

 of the „Monograph of the British Spongiadae" in 1864. 



Meanwhile „Die Spongien des Adriatischen Meeres" by 

 Oscar Schmidt had appeared in 1862. Bowerbank how- 

 ever entirely ignores this paper , even in the second volume 

 of his monograph (published 1866.) Only in the preface 

 of the third volume (1874!) Schmidt's work is mentioned. 

 And in what manner?! Oscar Schmidt- is indeed justi- 

 fied in complaining of this negligence. Schmidt ') seems 

 to be right in presuming that Bowerbank did not suffi- 

 ciently understand the German language. The introduc- 

 tion to the third volume of Bowerbauk's Monograph, com- 

 pared with the introduction to Schmidt's latest work 

 will soon convince one of tlie truth of this statement. 



The value of Bowerbauk's book consists in the great 

 number of facts, although separate and inconsistently 

 arranged. Bowerbank divides the siliceous Sponges into 

 seven groups, according to the arrangement and di- 

 rection of the spicula, Schmidt considers them more in 

 general , with regard to their mutual relation , their genea- 

 logy. And thus Schmidt's system is based upon better, 

 at least upon more natural principles. Bowerbank simply 

 gives a description of species , not to say of individuals , 

 and arranges the species in genera , families etc. ; Schmidt 

 on the contrary strives towards a classification which shall 

 show their derivation and relation. On account of these 

 and other considerations I propose to follow the system of 



1) Die Spongien des Meerbusen von Mexico. 1879. 



Note* from the Leyden TMuseum , "Vol. II. 



