THE LING-HOOD. 



769 



The example which is given in the illustration is generally called the MERMAID'S 

 GLOVE, because it is apt to spread into a form that bears a somewhat remote resemblance 

 to a glove with extended fingers. It is certainly the largest of the British Sponges, 

 sometimes attaining a height of two feet, and stretching out its branches boldly into the 

 sea. The branches are rather flattened, and when full-grown are about an inch in width. 

 They do not always remain separated throughout their whole extent, but are apt to 

 coalesce in various parts, and sometimes to form rudely-shaped arches. 



The colour of this Sponge is generally of a pale straw-yellow, and to the touch its 

 exterior is decidedly rough, on account of the myriads of spiculse which slighty project 

 from the surface. These spiculse are needle-like, sometimes slightly curved and sometimes 

 straight. Mostly they are pointed at both ends, but as they are fragile and snap asunder 

 with the least violence, they often look as if they were only pointed at one end. They 

 lie nearly parallel to each other, and many are so placed that their points are presented 

 outwards. This Sponge is found in deep water in many parts of the British seas. 





L1NU-HOOD. Halichdndria ventildbru;^ 

 Halichondria fucorum. 



FUNNEL-SPONGE. Halichdndri* 



ALL the figures in this illustration represent species of this large genus. 



The FUNNEL-SPONGE may easily be distinguished by its shape, which closely 

 resembles that of an ordinary funnel. Its structure is very finely porous, and it is rather 

 a pretty and elegant species. The spiculse which contain the softer parts of the FUNNEL- 

 SPONGE are long, slender, and sometimes curved. In most cases they are pointed at each 

 end, but in others only one end is sharp, while the other is rounded, so that the spicule 

 resembles a needle without an eye. They are rather loose, and either lie in bundles or 

 crossing one another. The width of an ordinary specimen is about three inches, and its 

 length is equal to its width. 



The LING-HOOD has a shape which, when it is young, reminds the observer of the 

 preceding species. It may, however, be readily distinguished from that Sponge by the 

 thick coating of hair-like spines with which its surface is covered. It always becomes 

 shallower by age, and is therefore extremely variable in its form. The edge is seldom so 



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