46 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



asvvathwa (Ficus religiosa Willd), or, for that matter, 

 piyal (Bitchanania latifolia Roxb.) with lower branch- 

 es overhanging swampy hollows, are not uncommon 

 in villages or outskirts of towns. During the rains 

 such swamps are invariably flooded, the water rising 

 as high as, or higher than, the drooping branches. 

 Floating substances consisting of straw, leaves, and 

 rags are caught up by them, and remain suspended 

 long after the flood subsides, until wind and rain 

 scatter them abroad. Among these familiar debris 

 are occasionally found other objects, which, owing 

 to their superficial resemblance to the former, often 

 elude observation. They are popularly believed to be 

 shrimps' nests, owing probably to the fact that these 

 small crustaceans sometimes nestle among them. Yet, 

 among the peasantry of India, there are men here 

 and there who are more observant than their neigh- 

 bours. They will tell us at once that those irre- 

 gular shapeless masses are some uncanny objects 

 which it is not safe to touch. On examination they will 

 be found to be spongella or fresh-water sponges, composed 

 of some soft substance supported by a frame-work of 

 very minute needle-like tubes, which, when touched, 

 quickly penetrate the pores of the skin and cause pain. 



The fresh-water sponges swarm with minute eggs or 

 "gemmules," as they are called in zoological language. 

 These are the seeds or germs of future sponges and are 

 enclosed within a hard outer shell. At the beginning of 

 the rains they are set free and fall to the bottom of the 



