ZOOPHYTES FROM THE CORNISH COAST. 377 



Zoophytes, p. 98, "stem simple, or rather where there is no 

 stem but a developement of branches from a root-like fibre," 

 and calls it a variety of Plumularia Catharina. It occurred to 

 me, from deep water again, off Peterhead and Wick, N.B. I 

 may mention that I got, in all the places above mentioned, 

 Plumularia Catharina with single stems ; I could, however, always 

 see sufficient difference to make me feel that the now P. siliquosa 

 was a good species It agrees, in every respect, with Hincks's 

 figure in having large pear-shaped ovarian vesicles (capsules) ; 

 shoots clustered simple not plumose, resembling ordinary pinnae, 

 but rising directly from the creeping stolon, and not born on an 

 erect stem regularly jointed, the joints oblique. The specimen 

 sent for your acceptance unfortunately has no capsules, in every 

 other respect it is pretty good. The one I have reserved for 

 myself has capstdes very fine, two such spring from under one of 

 the cahjcles, the only instance of such I have ever seen. 



This, then, is another addition to your list. 



Scriipocellaria scruposa. — Although this is a common species 

 and well known, I have been fortunate in adding a little more to 

 its history, I think of sufficient interest to communicate to your 

 Society. On the 10th of June, 1876, I obtained this species at 

 Newhaven attached to a sponge. Isodictyia f HalichondriaJ panicea 

 and as I felt anxious to know how it moored itself to this sponge, 

 I carefully examined and dissected it, and soon found, as I then 

 thought, curious sponge spicula differing from all I had before 

 seen. On tearing the Scrupocellaria out from the sponge, I at 

 once saw that what I took for sponge spicula, were actually the 

 the " tubulous root fibres" of the Polyzoa; here, then, was a 

 new fact to me — hitherto I had always considered these "root 

 fibres," smooth, but in this case they were furnished with 

 stout hooked spines, buried in the sponge, the points bent 

 towards the zoophyte like the flukes of an anchor pointing to 

 the bow of a ship when it kept the cable tight. These hooks — 

 or probably booklets — are shaped like the thorn of a rose tree, 

 and surround the "root fibres," and when dragged out, they hold 

 in their grasp nvimbers of the sponge spicula ; this at once ex- 

 plained why these " root fibres " were armed with hooks, and 

 the points bent towards the zoophite. 



