38 The Under-Water World 



One of the most spectacular of deep- 

 sea sponges is the Glass Rope Sponge 

 (Hyalonema). It is anchored in silt by 

 means of a " root " resembling a horse's 

 tail made of the finest spun glass very 

 wiry and as strong as a bunch of fine 

 copper wire flex. The almost unbreak- 

 able " rope " extends some distance as 

 a spike into the interior of the head of 

 the cup-shaped sponge. 



The simple bread-crumb sponge, one 

 of the commonest of British sponges, is 

 subject to great variation of both form 

 and colour. Sometimes it is a mere 

 clump of dull olive, clustered round a 

 branch of sea-weed, whilst at other times 

 it may cover great wall spaces of ocean 

 cavern with blood-red hues. It must 

 have been this sponge that inspired 

 Victor Hugo when, in his " Toilers of 

 the Deep/' he wrote of a cave in the 

 Channel Islands " as having the appear- 

 ance of being splashed with blood, 



