42 
Bulletin of Natural History Society, 
ARTICLE II. 
Ok the Occuerekce of Sponges in Laurentian Eocks 
AT St. John, N. B. 
BY G. P. MATTHEW, M A., F.R.S.C. 
(Read 3rd November, 1890.) 
A year ago when visiting Drury’s cove, an indentation of 
the Kennebecasis river, in company with members of this 
society, my attention was attracted by certain smooth surfaces 
in the layers of the quartzites at that place. These, by 
their appearance, recalled the shining surfaces of flags of 
the St. John group over which spicules of hexactinellid 
sponges are scattered. Fragments of this rock were sub- 
mitted to the microscope and found to carry solitary spicules, 
and also fragments of the network of a sponge. The 
arrangement of the bars in these fragments of sponge skeleton 
would indicate a species resembling Cyathospongia. The 
following is a description of its character: 
Cyathospongia (?) Eozoica. n. sp. 
Skeleton of parallel and some forked spicules, crossed by 
other spicules at right angles, or nearly so. The spicules are 
of two sets of different sizes — one larger, forming a fenestral 
framework to the sponge; the other smaller, producing a 
minute network in the interspaces of the larger spicules. 
Spaces between the bars of the framework about one four- 
hundredth of an inch, the finer spicules are made visible by 
a one-fourth inch objective. 
