202 Mr. Bell's Remarks on the 



Am. XXIII. Remarks on the Animal Nature of Sponges. 

 Bt/ Thomas Bell, Esq. F.L.S. 



My attention having been called to the question of the animal 

 or vegetable nature of the Sponges, by Mr. Gray's paper on that 

 subject, in the former number of this Journal, I am induced to 

 throw together a few cursory observations on that gentleman's 

 conclusions, and the reasoning upon which they are founded ; 

 which, with the relation of a fact bearing immediately, and to 

 my mind decisively, on the point at issue, may perhaps tend in 

 some measure to elucidate the question. 



In entering upon the consideration of a subject like this, which 

 involves the nature and relations of a particular group of organ- 

 ized beings, it is of the greatest importance that we should reason 

 only from indisputable and well understood facts, and deduce 

 our illustrations from those species alone which are on all sides 

 allowed to belong to the group, the nature of which is to be in- 

 vestigated. It appears to me that Mr. Gray has been deficient 

 in this essential accuracy and caution, and that it is principally 

 from this cause that his opinions are, as I conceive, erroneous. 



Passing his numerous references to the works of Zoologists of 

 former times, which, however, evince a very extensive acquain- 

 tance with all that has been written on the subject, I would 

 remark only, that the observations of Lamarck appear to me to 

 deserve much greater attention than Mr. Gray is disposed to pay 

 to them. At least we can scarcely consider him as adopting a 

 mere modification of the character given by Pallas, for the words 

 quoted by Mr. Gray from the latter author, are also quoted by 

 Lamarck himself, for the very purpose of contrasting his own 

 opinion with that of the Russian naturalist. 



The conclusions of Mr. Gray are principally deduced from the 

 assumption, that the fresh-water sponges (so called), are of the 

 same nature as those of marine growth. Certainly other natural- 

 ists have not invariably come to the same conclusion, for the old 

 adage, quot homines, tot sententiwj was scarcely ever more appli- 



