204 



been taken by the writer over a period of seven months from 

 localities in Durham, N. H., as follows: 



August 10, 1923— Oyster River, College Woods. 



October 27, 1922— Oyster River, College Woods. 



October 28, 1922 — Longmarsh Brook, first branch. 



October 29, 1922— Reservoir. 



November 14, 1922 — Reservoir. 



November 25, 1922— Oyster River, Mill Pond. 



February 1, 1926 — Oyster River, College Woods. 



The following notes are quoted, with his permission, from 

 memoranda by Prof. H. V. Wilson, of the University of North 

 Carolina. 



''Jane Stephens (Proc. Royal Irish Acad., vol. 35, p. 218, 

 1920) records that gemmules may be found apparently at almost 

 any time of the year in some of the Irish spongillids, in Hetero- 

 meyenia ryderi, for instance, during June (loc. cit., p. 241). 



''W. Weltner finds that Ephydatia fluviatilis in some places in 

 Germany behaves as do many spongillids in the north temperate 

 zone, that is, toward the end of autumn it forms gemmules and 

 dies. But in other places the same species may persist through 

 the year (perennial condition), forming, at any rate containing, 

 gemmules at all seasons including the summer, so that specimens 

 may be had in the summer containing gemmules and eggs or 

 sperm (W. Weltner, SpongilHdenstudien V, p. 275, Archiv f. 

 Naturgesch. 73, 1907). That Ephydatia fluviatilis in some places 

 was perennial and could be found with gemmules at all seasons 

 was already known to Lieberkiihn and Goette (W. Weltner, 

 Archiv f. Naturgesch. 59, 1893, pp. 225, 271, 272). 



''In other spongillids, too (Ephydatia mulleri and Spongilla 

 fragilis), which ordinarily form gemmules and degenerate toward 

 the end of autumn, W. Weltner has found degenerating specimens 

 with gemmules in June and July. Again, Euspongilla lacustris in 

 Tegel Lake has been found by the same observer sometimes to 

 contain gemmules in July along with the egg-larvae. 



"It has long been known that perennial spongilhds occur. 

 Such perennial species have sometimes lost, it would seem, or 

 practically lost or perhaps in some cases have never acquired, 

 because unnecessary, the protective habit of forming gemmules 

 (W. Weltner, Archiv f. Naturgesch. 59, 1893, p. 272. He gives 

 references to W. Marshall and Edw. Potts). Heteromeyenia 

 ryderi and Ephydatia fluviatilis do not, however, fit well into this 

 category. The facts for Ephydatia are given above. Hetero- 

 meyenia is perennial, or at least occasionally perennial (waters of 

 Long Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland : Edw. Potts, Fresh 

 Water Sponges, p. 247, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1887).'' 



Remarkable Skeleton Spicules. 



On October 27, 1922, the writer took a spongillid from the 

 Oyster River showing a remarkable condition existing in the 



