﻿A 
  MONOGRAPH 
  OF 
  THE 
  VICTORIAN 
  SPONGES. 
  

  

  I.— 
  INTRODUCTION. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  now 
  nearly 
  three 
  years 
  since 
  the 
  Port 
  Phillip 
  Biological 
  Survey 
  Committee 
  

   of 
  the 
  Eoyal 
  Society 
  of 
  Victoria 
  placed 
  in 
  my 
  hands 
  for 
  the 
  purposes 
  of 
  investigation 
  

   the 
  splendid 
  collection 
  of 
  sponges 
  dredged 
  by 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  Bracebridge 
  Wilson 
  in 
  the 
  neigh- 
  

   bourhood 
  of 
  Port 
  Phillip 
  Heads. 
  Since 
  that 
  time 
  Mr. 
  Wilson 
  has 
  yearly 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  

   collection, 
  which 
  now 
  numbers 
  nearly 
  two 
  thousand 
  specimens, 
  and 
  is 
  certainly 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  finest 
  collections 
  of 
  sponges 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  In 
  dealing 
  with 
  so 
  large 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  material 
  the 
  first 
  thing 
  necessary 
  was 
  to 
  

   roughly 
  sort 
  out 
  the 
  specimens 
  into 
  their 
  main 
  groups. 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  accomplish 
  even 
  

   so 
  much 
  it 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  make 
  many 
  hundreds 
  of 
  microscopical 
  preparations, 
  

   and 
  this 
  preliminary 
  work 
  alone 
  has 
  already 
  occupied 
  a 
  very 
  considerable 
  amount 
  

   of 
  time. 
  

  

  Meanwhile 
  I 
  wrote 
  to 
  the 
  Natural 
  History 
  Department 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Museum 
  

   and 
  asked 
  for 
  h'agments 
  of 
  all 
  their 
  Australian 
  sponges 
  for 
  purposes 
  of 
  comparison 
  

   and 
  identification. 
  Dr. 
  Giinther, 
  F.Pi.S., 
  the 
  Keeper 
  of 
  the 
  Zoological 
  Department 
  

   of 
  the 
  Museum, 
  responded 
  to 
  my 
  request 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  liberal 
  manner, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  to 
  

   off'er 
  him 
  my 
  most 
  sincere 
  thanks 
  for 
  sending 
  me 
  several 
  hundred 
  named 
  specimens 
  

   of 
  Australian 
  sponges, 
  which 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  value 
  in 
  determining 
  the 
  identity 
  or 
  

   otherwise 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  Port 
  Pliillip 
  collection 
  with 
  those 
  previously 
  

   described 
  by 
  other 
  writers. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  also 
  greatly 
  indebted 
  to 
  Sir 
  Frederick 
  M'Coy, 
  F.Pi.S., 
  who 
  has 
  most 
  kindly 
  

   placed 
  at 
  my 
  disposal 
  all 
  the 
  sponges 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  Museum 
  at 
  Melbourne 
  ; 
  to 
  Mr. 
  

   J. 
  Gabriel 
  for 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  valuable 
  specimens 
  dredged 
  by 
  him 
  chiefly 
  at 
  Westernport 
  

   (Victoria) 
  ; 
  to 
  Professor 
  W. 
  Baldwin 
  Spencer, 
  M.A., 
  for 
  the 
  valuable 
  advice 
  which 
  he 
  

   has 
  always 
  readily 
  given 
  on 
  difficult 
  points 
  ; 
  to 
  the 
  Piev. 
  Walter 
  Fielder, 
  for 
  assistance 
  

   in 
  making 
  microsco}:ical 
  preparations, 
  and 
  above 
  all 
  to 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  Bracebridge 
  Wilson, 
  

   M.A., 
  Head 
  Master 
  of 
  the 
  Church 
  of 
  England 
  Grammar 
  School, 
  Geelong, 
  for 
  the 
  great 
  

   majority 
  of 
  the 
  specimens 
  and 
  for 
  several 
  opportunities 
  of 
  accompanying 
  him 
  on 
  

   his 
  dredging 
  trips 
  and 
  seeing 
  the 
  sponges 
  in 
  the 
  living 
  condition 
  as 
  they 
  first 
  come 
  

   from 
  the 
  water. 
  

  

  I 
  must 
  also 
  not 
  omit 
  to 
  mention 
  my 
  indebtedness 
  to 
  the 
  Council 
  of 
  the 
  

   Eoyal 
  Society 
  of 
  Victoria, 
  who 
  readily 
  agreed 
  to 
  my 
  suggestion 
  that 
  a 
  special 
  

   volume 
  should 
  be 
  devoted 
  to 
  the 
  monograph 
  on 
  the 
  Victorian 
  sponges, 
  thus 
  

   enabling 
  the 
  work 
  to 
  appear 
  ultimately 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  separate 
  publication 
  instead 
  

   of 
  being 
  scattered 
  in 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  isolated 
  papers 
  through 
  the 
  Transactions 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  