102 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Growth of Stromatopora. 



profusely in its locality, not only entering and filling up the 

 open interstices of other calcareous organisms during their 

 growth, but enveloping their detritus (joints and stems of 

 Encrinites, &c.), and, when not doing either of these things, 

 growing into large masses of itself. Thus, by cementing 

 every thing together after this manner, the great reef appears 

 to have been formed which is now known by the name of 

 " Devonian Limestone." This is not only evidenced by the 

 composition of the solidified strata generally, when cut and 

 polished, but more convincingly and particularly by a portion 

 of it in " Pit-Park Quarry," which, having undergone partial 

 decomposition, now yields up its contents even more sepa- 

 rately than probably they have ever been since they were 

 bound together by the ubiquitous Stromatopora. 



In the first place, I could not help seeing how often Stroma- 

 topora had grown on Favosites ; and on turning to the speci- 

 men which led me to the remarks on Caunopora in my 

 paper on the probable nature of the animal of Stromatopora 

 ('Annals,' 1878, vol. ii. pp. 311, 312), I felt constrained to 

 fall back upon this coral ; and I also saw that, although 

 perfectly right as regards the difference between the " axial " 

 and "tubulated" structure in Millepora alcicomis (ib. p. 316 

 &c), this could not be applied to Caunopora. 



Herein I was much influenced by Mr. Champernowne's 

 showing me what Dr. Duncan had pointed out to him, viz. 

 that the supposed genus u Batter shy a" of MM. Edwards 

 and Haime, who placed it among the Milleporidse, consisted 

 of a coral the interstices of which were filled up with a 

 Stromatopora) so that, virtually, there was no such organism. 

 We next examined specimens of Syringopora, in which the 

 same thing was observed to have taken place. But why 

 should I recount more instances of this nature when I have 

 already stated that " Pit-Park Quarry " bore evidence of 

 every thing, both living and dead, having been overrun by 

 Stromatopora (including Caunopora under this head) during 

 the formation of the " reef." 



All this led me, on my return home, to again see what 

 Baron Bosen had stated and illustrated of Stromatopora 

 Schmidtii. I then found that S. Schmidtii could not be 

 a species of Caunopora, as stated in my paper (I. c. p. 319) ; 

 and, on referring to Bosen's account (p. 80), this was confirmed 

 by his statement that Boemer was " right " in considering 

 Caunopora placenta, Lonsdale, nothing but the tubes of a 

 "coral" surrounded by Stromatopora. 



To this view I am now inclined to accede, as to the 

 presence of these tubes indicating that of an organism dif- 



