226 Prof. P. M. Duncan on the Genus Hindia. 



spinal cord of various Vertebrata, and he thinks that J. Ger- 

 lach's older important discoveries are in this way confirmed 

 and extended, and that they may be admitted for all bilateral 

 animals. Although I cannot quite agree with this as regards 

 Gerlach's descriptions, it may nevertheless be assumed that here 

 all turns upon the condition which, as I have above indicated, 

 at any rate in its main features, occurs throughout the whole 

 animal kingdom, in which, generally, a more developed nervous 

 system is present. To discuss this matter in its minute 

 details and to clear up the many doubtful points will be an 

 affair of the future. 



XXIV. — On the Genus Hindia and its Species. 

 By Prof. P. Martin Duncan, M.B. (Lond.), F.R.S., &c. 



Dr. H. Rauff has been so kind as to send me a copy of his 

 paper " Ueber die Gattung Hindia, Dune." (Separat-Abdruck 

 aus den Sitzungsber. der niederrh. Gesellschaft zu Bonn, 

 Mai 10, 1886). He has confirmed the truth of the diagnosis 

 which I gave of the very beautiful species, and he admits the 

 genus as correct. Dr. Kauff does more than this ; he utterly 

 demolishes Prof. Steinmann, who with "grosser Entschieden- 

 heit " wrote that the Hindia was not a sponge and had neither 

 oscule, canals, nor spicules ! It is very pleasant to have one's 

 battles fought by an able foreign naturalist, and Dr. Rauff 

 has my sincere thanks. 



The description of Hindia as a genus and of its species, 

 H. sjjhca'oidalisy was published in the Ann. & Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. ser. 5, vol. iv. 1879, p. 84, pi. ix. It will be noticed 

 (p. 91) that there are canals and that the spicules are tetra- 

 clade. The figures given were drawn from nature by A. S. 

 Foord, and figs. 1 and 2 5, e, give exact representations of 

 the tetraclade elements of the canals, which are also in part 

 represented in fig. 4. Prof. Steinmann says that the canals 

 and spicules do not exist, and it follows that if he is correct 

 the author of the paper was romancing and the able artist 

 was drawing from his imagination. The most charitable 

 proceeding is to suppose that the professor has not seen the 

 ]mper on Hindia and has not had the opportunity of examining 

 the type, part of which is at Munich. It is perfectly proved by 

 Dr. Raufi" that the morphology of Hindia was correctly 

 described, and it is not therefore necessary to pursue the 



