1905. ] ON THE SPONGE CLATHRINA CONTORTA. 3 
not prolong or retain youthful characters of the antlers, but, quite 
the contrary, caused them to grow irregularly or had the effect, of 
entire suppression of the antler. 
He stated that very frequently an aged Stag or Fallow buck 
would throw up supernumerary snags at the base of the antler 
(text-fig. 1, E) or along the side of the beam, which somewhat 
resembled, and were probably a reversion to, these immature 
characters, and that there were several records of aged or barren 
hinds growing the simple “ pricket” antlers of the first year. 
Mr. R. I. Pocock, F.Z.S., exhibited and made remarks on a 
specimen of the Spanish Tarantula, Lycosa hispanica, that had 
died in the Society’s Gardens. 
On behalf of Mr. R. C. Punnett, F.Z.S., and himself, Mr. W. 
Bateson, F.R.8., F.Z.8., exhibited specimens of Fowls illustrating 
peculiarities in the heredity of white plumage, and made the 
following remarks :— 
A pure white breed such as White Leghorn, crossed with a dark 
breed such as Brown Leghorn, gives a cross-breed substantially 
white, the colour being recessive. The White Rose-comb Bantam, 
however, crossed with a coloured breed gives coloured cross breeds, 
the white being recessive. But in every specimen examined 
carefully these recessive whites were found to have one or more 
minute ticks of black pigment. Though, superficially regarded, 
these ticked whites would be classified as white, experiment proves 
them to be entirely different in nature. These facts elucidate the 
paradoxical accounts given by Darwin and others that Black and 
White Bantams crossed together give both blacks and whites; 
for the black may fully dominate over the white in this particular 
Case. 
The following papers were read :— 
1. On the Sponge Leucosolenia contorta Bowerbank, Ascandra 
contorta Haeckel, and Ascetta spinosa Lendenfeld. By 
H. A. Mincamy, F.Z.8., University College, London. 
[Received March 16, 1905.] 
(Plate I.* and Text-figures 2-6.) 
The Calcareous Sponges have been a very unfortunate group, 
from the systematic point of view. From the time when Haeckel 
swept away all previous generic names, in order to found his so- 
called natural system, up to the present day, scarcely any two 
* Wor explanation of the Plate, see p. 20. 
|* 
