THE ANNALS 



AND 



MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



[FOURTH SERIES.] 



" per litora spargite museum, 



Naiades, et circum vitreos considite fontes: 

 PoUice virgineo teneros hie oarpite flores : 

 Ploribus et pictiun, divae, replete canistrum. 

 At TOS, o NjinjihsB Craterides, ite sub undas; 

 Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco 

 Vellite muscosis e rupibua, et mihi conchas 

 Perte, Deee pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo." 



N.Fartheyni Oiannettatii Eel. 1. 



No. 25. JANUARY 1870. 



I. — On the Organization of Sponges, and their Relationship to 

 the Corals. By ErnsT HacKEL*. 



The class of Sponges has hitherto stood, in many respects, 

 isolated in the world of organisms. No other class of the 

 animal or vegetable kingdom, containing an equal number of 

 abundant, large, and multifarious forms, has left naturalists, 

 even up to the most recent times, so much in doubt as to its true 

 nature, or called forth such a number of contradictory opinions. 

 Whilst most of the older naturalists regarded the Sponges as 

 plants, and most of the modern ones considered them to be ani- 

 mals, the intermediate opinion also made itself felt from time to 

 time — namely, that from the indiiFerency of the characters of 

 their organization, and from their mixture of animal and 

 vegetable peculiarities, they were to be assigned to that remark- 

 able group of the lowest and simplest organisms, which (in my 

 ' General Morphology of Organisms ') I have placed as the 

 kingdom of the Protista, between the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms. Without entering here upon an historical exposition 

 of the numerous different opinions which have ever been en- 

 tertained by naturalists as to the position of the Sponges in 

 the classification of organisms, the opposite stand-points of the 

 most esteemed naturalists may nevertheless be briefly indicated. 



* From the ' Jenaische Zeitschrift,' Band v. pp. 207-254 ; translated by 

 W. S. Dallas, F.L.S. 



Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol.\. 1 



