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 resem- 

 blance 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 color 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 spiculae which slightly project 

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

 times 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 pre- 

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



LINO-HOOD. - Halichoadfia ventilabrum. 

 Halichoadria fucorutu. 



FUNNEL-SPONGE.-//a//c/Jonc/r/a infuadlbulorum. 



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



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

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

 pretty and elegant species. The spiculae 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 



49 



