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the microscope. He states his belief that the parasite is a form of 

 nematoid worm. That Mr. Carter has made a great mistake in his 

 conclusions, no one in America who has seen the objects will doubt 

 in the least. The tubes and prolongation of tendrils are as obvi- 

 ously a part of the sponge as the finger is a part of the hand. In 

 no case can any joint, or suture, or other point of attachment be 

 discovered, and the material or, substance of which they are com- 

 posed is, to all intents and purposes, the same as the chitinous or 

 middle wall of the statoblast, of which it is a mere continuation. 

 This applies equally with all three of the species. The subject may 

 give rise to a lively controversy, unless Mr. C. should weaken and 

 step down from his position. 



Since penning the above, two other species, new to us, have 

 been found in this neighborhood ; one by Mr. E. S. Nott, of Ham- 

 burg, N. Y., and the other by myself in Niagara River. The one 

 found by Mr. Nott, and sent to me for identification, I took to be 

 Spongilla carteri, a species hitherto only found in Bombay, India. 

 But, on a more thorough examination and subsequent comparison 

 with a type-specimen from Mr. Carter's collection, I conclude that 

 it is another species, probably new and undescribed. A description 

 of it, without measurement, is as follows : Sponge sessile, color, 

 faint whitish yellow, structure fragile. Skeleton spiculse smooth 

 fusiform, curved gradually, sharp-pointed. Statoblasts globular ; 

 aperture infundibular ; crust thinner than in 6". carteri, but sim- 

 ilarly composed of columns of polyphedral cells, hexagonal in the 

 section, regularly arranged one above another in juxtaposition, 

 perpendicularly to the outside of the chitinous coat, on which they 

 rest; surrounded by a layer of minute fusiform curved spinous 

 acerates. It is evidently of the S. lacustris type. The species 

 discovered in Niagara River, in the early part of December, I have 

 not been able to identify. It resembles S. asperima in many 

 respects, but is so different in others that it cannot be considered 

 identical. It is very compact, encrusting weed and grass or what- 

 ever may be in its way. Many statoblasts are oval. Birotulates 

 sparsely distributed. Skeleton spiculae numerous and adhering 

 longitudinally in masses. According to the latest classification, this 

 would belong to the genus Meyenia. 



