RECREATIVE NATURAL HI 



he who, for the first time, devote* hinweh* to a consideration of 

 i" organisms popularly known an the sponges, will, 

 uie results of scientific research, bo at a loss to nay 



ir tlioy aboald belong to the vegetable or the animal 



many of them rival the moat elegant ty|XM 



; /!.. -A t !i. whilHt the soft, heavy gelatinous matter with 



ttod frame or skeleton of the sponge is filled 



< to its true position amongst created things. 



r ininuto research and careful ooimideratioti, 



olaased the Spongiadaf amongst animated creatures. 



'Tin gponye, in its popular sense, ia oanolly applied to the 

 porous mass or substance commonly sold in our shops under 



:imo. It must be borne in mind, however, that com- 



.1 apongu in merely the skeleton framework, or supporting 



:o living sponge at one time existed. Sm-li ,,( 



our readers as dwell near the sea, whore living sponges attached 



to fragments of rook or other objects con be obtained, will 



', by I'lii.'ing them in a vessel of clear soa-wif, 

 which a number of particles of chalk havo boon loosely cast, 

 that Rome of the fragments will be attracted towards, and 



; lie expanded orifices on the surface, whilst others will 



.Ued and carried away by a sot of currents, or minuto 

 streams, flowing directly away from the creature under ob- 

 servation. And hero we havo a marked and beautiful example 

 of thut wonderful law, known as the law of endosmose, which 

 admits of the free passage of heavy carbonic acid gas through 

 the minute pores of a bladder, and of the entrance of atmo- 

 spheric air to take its place. If we examine the surface of 

 a common dead sponge, wo shall find it consist of a vast 

 number of minute orifices or pores. Through these the water 

 flows into the mass or body of the sponge, which will be found, 

 on making a section of one, to contain a number of large 

 irregular canals, terminating in open orifices or mouths. These 

 by naturalists have been called the oscula of tho sponge, and 

 through them tho water, after parting with such elements of 

 nutrition as it may contain, and receiving instead such effete 

 excretions or sponge ova as may bo communicated to it within 

 tho plexus of canal ramification, flows freely out into the sea. 



Tho propagation of tho sponge appears to be carried out by 

 tho formation of irregularly-shaped particles or grains amongst 

 tho jelly-like substance or sarcode. These minute atoms, on 

 separation from tho parent sponge, have on their surface nu- 

 merous minute bristle-like cilia, or processes. These, from 

 possessing a large amount of vibrating and undulating move- 

 ment, propel the particle of organic matter with great rapidity 

 through the liquid medium in which its lot is cast ; and like 

 the thistle-down or willow-wool, which drifts over hill and dale 

 before the summer breeze, until some sheltered nook finally re- 

 ceives and shelters it, so sea-borne, drifts, rotates, and revolves 

 the tiny sponge germ. At length some broken lodge or horn of 

 submerged rock receives tho wanderer. Here, aided by its cilia, 

 it retains its hold Nature's alchemy is set at work. The 

 elements necessary for the formation of a supporting frame- 

 work aro gleaned from tho stores of the deep sea, and that 

 which was a drifting germ becomes a fixed and stationary 

 sponge, in time to cast off germs of its own to swell tho ranks 

 of the rock-dwellers. 



Having spoken of the frames or skeletons of sponges, it will 

 bo well, before proceeding further, to consider the nature of 

 their form and material. In contour the sponge frames will bo 

 found to differ just as much as the corals or the blossoms of 

 plants. A glance at Fig. 1 in the illustration in the next 

 page will serve to show that tho subject of tho sketch the 

 Cup, Pin sponge (Raphiophora patera) is almost a counterpart, 

 in form of configuration, of the cup-moss of our moorlands, 

 only cast in a gigantic mould. A reference to Fig. 2, which 

 represents the Philippine Island sponge (Euplectella asper- 

 or, as it was called a short time since, EuplecteUa 

 speciosa), will show that one of the most elegant types of flower- 

 form has been assumed. Turn to Fig. 3, and we shall find the 

 representation of a sponge common to our own coasts (Spongia 

 oculata) ; and in this \ve have a miniature resemblance to the 

 great candelabra-formed cereus of the Gila region. 



Having seen how various are the forms taken by different 

 members of the sponge family, we will next proceed to a con- 

 M-Wation of the materials used in building up their skeletons. 

 It would be difficult to find, even among tho varied and elegant 

 types of coral and sea-shell form, an instance of greater perfec- 



tion of construction than is seen in the EupleeteUa atpergillw*. 

 Rivalling the most delicate Brussels laoe in texture and roticx. 

 lation, tho fibres of this admirable cornucopia-like frame ara 

 glaaa-liko in transparency, and consist almost entirely of pure 

 silica or flint, as do the bristle-like processes which spring np 

 around its base. The perfectly fitting and fixed cover which 

 crowns this natural vase is also composed of silioeons fibre. 

 And here it may bo well to notice a circumstance which has led 

 to much speculation amongst the scientific and curious. In 

 nearly every specimen of the EupleeteUa, is found a collection 

 of the shells of small crabs. This led its first discoverers to the 

 conclusion that the crabs spun the network with which they 

 wore found surrounded, and the term riyederoi, applied to tho 

 EuplecteUa by the fishermen of the Philippine I 

 is also made use of when speaking of the small crabs coi.. 

 taken by them. There can, however, bo no doubt as to tho 

 perfect inability of any crustacean to build up nuch an ex- 

 quisite structure as that under consideration; and the f 

 crabs of more than one species aro found in the vases would at 

 once show that unanimity of action could not bo attained, and 

 therefore work varying in character and design would be tho 

 result. Tho crabs found within tho sponge's crystal cage ob- 

 tain an entrance before tho completion of the tube and con- 

 struction of the cover which guards its mouth, a: 

 in and out, as they do from any other hollow or tubular body, 

 until the orifice being closed by tho gradual drawing together 

 of tho network causes them to remain prisoners for life. Their 

 worn-out and cast-off shells, like old garments, remain in the 

 cell with them, and lead to the hasty conclusion that a number 

 of crabs must havo had their dwelling-placo within the barrier. 



Tho siliceous element is secreted by sponges of a number of 

 varieties dwelling in entirely different regions and zones. We 

 have just hod an opportunity of examining, in the British 

 Museum, a very curious and interesting specimen obtained in 

 tho North Sea : it is represented at Fig. 4. It is known as 

 Holtenia Carpentaria, and more closely resembles the " bache- 

 lor's pillow" cactus, than aught else, and a round orifice at the 

 top, fringed with crystal bristles, gives it a singularly quaint 

 appearance. Compare one of these glass-like appendages with 

 one thrown off by the Hyalonema Sieboldii, or glass-rope, re- 

 presented at Fig. 5, which is said to be a coral, and it would 

 puzzle a keen investigator to distinguish one from tho other. 

 So we find that sponges are flint-workers, possessing no ordinary 

 skill, and if we subject some of the powder yielded by specimens 

 of the commonest sponges to the searching lens of the micro- 

 scope, we shall find some of the most beautiful and interesting 

 forms possible to bo conceived. Some of these are composed of 

 carbonate of lime, whilst others are of pure silica, which the 

 researches of Dr. Bowerbank, to whom we ore indebted for our 

 enlarged microscopic views, have shown to be secreted by the 

 action of a sort of double membrane possessed by tho sponge, 

 each surface being capable of forming the siliceous substance. 

 Some sponges have their surfaces abundantly charged with tho 

 carbonate of lime deposit, whilst their interiors ore completely 

 filled with siliceous spicules. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are examples 

 of them taken from different specimens ; and most fortunate it 

 is for those who make use of sponges for toilet purposes, that 

 the extreme minuteness of these beautifully formed particles 

 prevents them from becoming formidable irr:' 



The coasts of Great Britain may bo said to ba comparatively 

 rich in sponge growths ; twenty-four genera are enumerated as 

 having been discovered. Fresh-water lakes and rivers also 

 possess their sponges, Spongilla jluviatilis and S. lacustris 

 being marked and well-known examples. Those found on our 

 coasts, although unfit for the sponge market, form most in- 

 teresting objects for the cabinet or aquarium. A warmer sea 

 and more genial climate than ours appear necessary to develop 

 the descriptions of sponge sought by the merchant, who obtains 

 the groat bulk of his supply from the ports of tho Mediterranean, 

 the coasts of Syria, the Greek Islands, and Barbary being noted 

 for their yield of sponge. Tripoli, Lattakien, and Beyront arc 

 the principal ports of shipment. The Turkish sponge trade is 

 also of considerable importance ; from 4,000 to 5,000 men, and 

 between 600 and 700 boats, being annually employed in it. The 

 Greeks may, however, be considered the principal sponge-fishers. 

 Much experience, skill, and hardihood are needed to qualify a 

 man for classification amongst first-class sponge-divers, many 

 of the most valuable specimens, which sell readily in Paris or 



