186 ; Bibliographical Notice. 
Of the body-mass of the sponge, length and breadth from four 
to four and a half inches ; the beard or anchoring rootlets from 
ten or twelve inches to upwards of two feet in length. Fur- 
ther details of the structure and affinities of this interesting 
production must be deferred for a future communication ; but, 
before laying down my pen, I must not omit to acknowledge 
here how much I feel indebted to my friend Prof. Du Bocage, 
the eminent conservator of the Lisbon Museum, for the very 
kind and valuable "xmv he rendered us in his anxiety 
that our expedition should not prove a fruitless one, by placing 
at our disposal so much of his valuable time, and by putting 
us in communication with the deep-sea fishermen in the 
neighbourhood of Setubal, PUN whose instrumentality 
Hyalonema, Pheronema, and m any other of Ocean's loveliest 
productions were first demonstrated to be denizens of the 
Portuguese coasts. 
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. 
The Oruithosauria: an Elementary Study of the Bones of Ptero- 
dactyles, made from Fossil Remains found in the Cambridge Upper 
versity of Cambridge. By H. G. SrELEY, of St. John’s College, 
“ang With 12 Plates. 8vo, pp. 135. Cambridge and 
on, 1610. 
* Anp when the appointed end comes they lie not dishonoured in 
forgetfulness " (Xenophon) is the motto chosen for this work. It 
is more than probable that the motto is applicable to the contents of 
the book; it is decidedly true of great quantities of fossils, col- 
lected as curiosities, or even as objects of scientific research. Often 
they are laid aside, and, for want of appreciation, or of a full recog- 
nition of the group of living things to which they are naturally 
allied, they wait for explanation until they fall into the hands of 
those who know their scientific worth, or of those to whom the pro- 
gress of biology opens up the previously unknown, giving them new 
clues to the exploration of the obscure and labyrinthic paths of nature 
in the ee As with antiquities that come to the hands of the un- 
search, so wit s; they mean nothing to the peasant, at 
en by the partially educated and prejudiced many ; 
they may as well be left in trust of the earth for better VES or 
years the advance of Natural History has been rapid. The struc- 
tures of Reptiles and Birds Sive been greatly elucidated ; and the 
remains of extinct creatures having reptilian and avian ‘affinities 
have been brought out from the phosphate-diggings near Cambridge, 
ele scie nA mei 
