HAP. in.] THE CRUISES OF THE < PORCUPINE: \ \ 3 



ush or shrub, which appears to clothe the bottom 

 some places over a large area like heather on a 

 loor. There are at least three species. In one the 

 ranches are strict and rigid ; while in another the 

 crangement is more lax, side branches coming off 

 om a flexible central rachis like the barbs from the 

 mft of an ostrich feather. The branches seem in 

 me cases to be from 50 to 80 centimetres in height, 

 id the stems near the base are 2 to 3 centimetres in 

 ameter. The stem and branches consist of a firm 

 ntral axis, semi-transparent and of a peculiar 

 dlowish green colour ; composed of a continuous 

 >rny substance filled with masses of needle-shaped 

 icules arranged longitudinally in dense sheaves, 

 lis axis is overlaid by a soft bark of sponge sub- 

 ance supported by needle-shaped spicules, and full 

 } the bihamate c spicules of the sarcode ' so charac- 

 istic of the genus Esperia and its allies. The 

 st is covered with pores, and rises here and there 

 ito papillae perforated by large oscula. This sponge 

 spears to belong to a group allied to the Espe- 

 else, and perhaps even more closely allied to 

 sne of the fossil branching forms whose remains 

 3 so abundant in some beds of the cretaceous 

 piod. A still finer species of the same group 

 ^s dredged by Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys in the first 

 ciise of the following year. 



Another peculiar sponge (Eig. 13) is very abundant 

 ai of a large size. This form was admirably described 

 h Professor Loven unaccountably under the name 

 c ffyalonema boreale. It is certainly very far from 

 j 'alonema. It is more nearly allied to Tethya, for 

 t 5 body of the sponge must certainly be referred to 



