164 Dr. J. E. Gray on the Arrangement 
(15) I. gugosa, (20) I. robusta, (25) I. palmata, (81) I. Nor- 
mant, (32) I. fucorum, (33) I. Alder, (34) I. Edwardit, (35) I. 
lobata, (36) I. paupera, (38) I. Clarked, (39) I. gracilis, (41) I. 
Beanwi, (42) I. lurida, (48) I. fimbriata, belong to Esperiade. 
With such a mixture in each of the genera, one is not 
astonished to hear, as one often does, that it is utterly ri, 
sible to make out any sponge by Dr. Bowerbank’s work. Be- 
heving that the otk contains much that is valuable, I have 
done what I could, in the paper published in the Proceedings of 
the Zoological Society, to make it useful to the British zoo- 
logist, among other ways by referring to the plates in which 
the spicules of his species are figured. 
Dr. Bowerbank prides himself on having proved that eleven 
of the fifty-six species of British Sponges described by Dr. 
Johnston “‘are only repetitions with new names, or otherwise 
no species” (Brit. Sponges, i. p. 2). Further on, at p. 222, he 
shows his reasons for these refuctiee: It remains to be seen 
how many of the 193 British species described by Dr. Bower- 
bank will suffer the same fate at the hands of his successors in 
the study of this group of animals. 
It would be very premature, with the very imperfect know- 
ledge we possess, to attempt to give any arrangement showing 
the relations that the genera have to each other, though one 
cannot study them without observing that no linear arrange- 
ment that can be formed will show more than a few of such 
relations, and must separate some genera which appear to have 
considerable analogy, if not affinity, to each other. 
The Coral Sponges (Coralliospongie), for example, are 
closely allied to the Euplectellade, the genus Aphrocallistes 
forming a passage between Dactylocalyx and Huplectella. 
The Coral Sones and the Huplectellade are peculiar among 
Sponges for having the sarcode studded with long-rayed stel- 
late spicules. And it would not be difficult to point out a num- 
ber of such alliances ; but this must be deferred until we have 
more works like the ‘ British Sponges’ and the ‘Sponges of the 
Adriatic Sea.’ I am very glad to hear that Dr. Oscar Schmidt 
is now engaged on the Sponges of the Mediterranean, and 
especially of Algeria, and hope he may hereafter be induced 
to take up the exotic fibrous Bponeee. , 
It has occurred to me that if I abstained from dividing the 
Sponges into Netted and Spicular Sponges in my arrange- 
ment, and commenced by separating them according to the 
spicules, as I had divided the Spicular Sponges, the arrange- 
ment of the families would be simplified and more natural, as 
