116 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



discovered a chert sponge bearing" th-e large and deep depression or 

 oscnlum of the Tennessee Pahvomanon Cratera. Hitherto only a 

 single specimen of the Tennessee sponge has been fonnd here, 

 recognized by Dr. Head, Chicago, who informed the writer that it 

 was qnite a common form in the States. 



It was only when your Curator was re-arranging the fossils of 

 our local rocks in one of the new cases that he recalled the many 

 deficiencies in organic remains. Some years since the writer for- 

 warded to the Redpath Museum at Montreal a collection of " anne- 

 lid burrows" — footprints, tracks, etc., which furnished the late Sir 

 Wm. Dawson with the materials of a paper he read to the Royal 

 Geological Society in L,ondon. Only one — a beaded track — has 

 since turned up, which he then named and described. Our Niagara 

 sponges were found to be rather poorly represented, but this de- 

 ficiency has in some measure been made good by acquisitions during 

 the late collecting season, and others previousl}^ put aside owing to 

 the overcrowded state of the flat cases. Many of the Hamilton 

 graptolites described by Dr. Spencer, F.G.S., unfortunately are not 

 forthcoming. The quarries now are not likely to add many to the 

 ones we possess. The bryozoon Rhinopera resembles sometimes 

 one of the graptolites. Indeed they are frequently mistaken for 

 hydrozoa by many acquainted with the latter. The black matter, 

 you may perceive, is confined -to this particular part of the bryo- 

 zoon. In some cases the leaf-like expansion is faintly outlined by a 

 hardly perceptible stain on the surface. A question was put to the 

 writer a short time ago to this effect : " What is a bryozoon, and 

 how can it be distinguished from other coral building polyps ? " 

 In answer to that I stated it was by no means an easy matter to 

 give a satisfactory reply, for even yet there is considerable differ- 

 ence of opinion regarding the organisms among palaeontologists 

 of much experience. I lately found among other extracts taken 

 years ago the following on the subject in question. " What is a 

 bryozoon and how can.it be distinguished ? " was asked by a stu- 

 dent to a learned professor of the university. We fear his reply 

 was ill calculated to enligjiten the young biologist. He was recom- 

 mended to study the works of Huxley, Allman, P"'orbes, and then 

 by means of the microscope he may be more successful in disting- 



