THE EUPLECTELLA 59 



But to go back for a moment to the fishermen. 

 Our friend has hooked a sponge, but it has too 

 firm a hold by its long ' glass ' threads, and it 

 refuses to come up. The hook is bound to break 

 a small piece away, hence a rent is occasioned. 

 Here comes in the extraordinary part of the story, 

 of the certainty of which, however, I have no 

 doubt whatever. The next year they dredge over 

 the same piece of water, and if they draw up 

 the sponge they missed on the previous expedition, 

 they will find the hole (formerly made by the 

 hook) darned up most beautifully, Such specimens 

 fetch a much higher price in the English market. 

 John Chinaman knows this, and as nearly every 

 sponge must of necessity be damaged somewhat, 

 owing to the difficulty of taking out the hook 

 when the sponge is * landed,' he takes off some 

 of the threads from the attaching end, which are 

 four or five inches long (often more), and with 

 these he cleverly darns up the holes in every 

 sponge he can lay his hands on, and by passing 

 them off as the work of the 'other animal,' he 

 obtains the extra price for them. Latterly, nat- 

 uralists are able to detect the fraud, for John's 

 work is not nearly so deftly done as that of the 

 'glass sponge' creature. 



The euplectella has been found in all oceans. 

 Some varieties are limited to certain localities, 

 while others are cosmopolitan. 



It would be hardly right to dismiss this sub- 



