HAMILTON SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 107 



Notes on the Past Collecting Season 



'By CoL C. a Grant 



November 24, 1905. 



Many of the well-known fields for sponges and chert-fossils 

 about the city presented a favorable appearance for collecting in 

 the early spring. Unfortunately, this writer found his sight little 

 improved from the previous year, and he had considerable difficult}^ 

 in distinguishing complete specimens of the former, although the 

 sections from their bright colors were more easil}^ detected. He 

 therefore concluded to handle every round lump on the surface that 

 bore any resemblance at all to what he was searching for. This 

 proved laborious, but highly satisfactory. From two of the fields 

 examined he extracted fine specimens of the late Prof. Billings' 

 AiUocophia, and Dr. Head's Riiroscegnezvan, a grooved globular 

 fossil which would come under the head "Astylospongea," since it 

 was furnished with a point of attachment for mooring it to the sea- 

 bottom. Perhaps the latter was one of the Niagara sponges which 

 a member of the section (A. K. WalkerJ forwarded to Prof. Rauff, 

 the famous German spongiologist. The three above stated were 

 sent to the Biitish Museum. Another of these specimens display- 

 ing a poriferous surface some of the members have already seen. 



I wish to call your attention to another singular shaped sponge 

 which I supposed several years ago represented a form distorted by 

 pressure or accident. At present I entertain doubts regarding the 

 correctness of this view. Three have been found here presenting 

 a similar appearance. So it seems difficult to suppose pressure 

 could have caused all to present a like resemblance. 



Dr. Rauff, the German scientist, in his great work " On the 

 Spongidse," states that the Aulocopina family are peculiar to On- 

 tario. This distinction no longer can be claimed. A Chicago 



