the side of the vase, which are the " little mouths " in this creature, 

 partly by the holes in the netted lid at the end. The skeleton 

 terminates below in a tuft of spicules by which it is aochored. 



Another group of Sponges, the Horny division contains all the 

 kinds used for commercial and domestic purposes as they are free 

 from spicules. These spon^^es of commerce come from the 

 Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the West Indies. In the Archi- 

 pelago, Crete, Cyprus, on the coasts of Asia Minor, Syria, Barbary, 

 and the Bahama Islands of the West Indies, sponge fisheries 

 constitute a very important industry. The finest sponges are 

 contained in Turkish waters The fishing season commences in 

 May, and closes in September or October, Diving is practised and 

 is carried on in a rude, primitive manner. The diver, who has no 

 dress, s-izes hold of a large stone, to which a line is attached, and 

 sinks by means of it to a depth varying from 30 to 180 feet. 

 Keeping hold of the rope, he tears the sponge off the rocks within 

 h s reach, and jlaces it ia a net ; when he has secured a netful, he 

 signals by means of the rope to be drawn up. A diver usually 

 remains under water fro u 40-60 seconds. Formerly all the sponges 

 gatherei in the Archipelago were sent to Smyrna for transhipment 

 to Engknd and the continent, but now many cases of sponge are 

 shipped direct from the islands themselves. The exports in 1876 

 from Ehodes and the Sporades amounted io value to £140,000 ; 

 from the Cyclades £21,340 and from Smyrna d9204,433. The 

 fisheries of Cyprus in 1877, yielded 70001bs. weight of sponges, and 

 the exports from Beyrout iu the same year were valued at £8000 

 sterling. Sponge of a coarse texture and large honeycombing is 

 found all along the coast of Tripoli and Tunis. The total exports 

 from the regency of Tunis in 1875 were valued at nearly £11,000. 

 The value of sponges exported from Bengazi, Tripoli, amounted in 

 1876 to £55,000. The West Indian trade is annually increasing, 

 and the fishing industry gives employment to 500 vessels and 

 2,000 persons. The Bahamas and the coast of Florida are the 

 fishing grounds, and Cuba will probably soon join them. In this 

 part of the world, the sponges are obtained by spearing with a 

 pronged fork fixed to a long pole. In 1877, nearly 3,000 cwts. of 

 sponge were exported to New York, Canada, and England, from 

 the Bahamas. Wool, glove, grass, and yellow sponge are all shown 

 on the table, with other varieties. 



To turn again to Euplectella for a few moments. Many years 

 ago, when Paley wrote his " Evidences of Christianity " one of the 

 strong arguments used by him to prove the existence of a Creator, 

 an all-wise Supreme Being was Teleology, or the doctrine of Design 

 as shown in the works of nature. Since the appearance of the 

 Origin of Species by Darwin, 27 years ago, scientific men have been 



