Functions of the Sponge . 97 
have been written in the German and English languages by 
Zeller and White, on the uses of sponge in surgical operations. 
The fibres contain muriate and carbonate of soda, iodine, and, 
like Thalassiophytes, carbonaceous matter. From their iodine, 
they have been much and successfully employed in the treat- 
ment of bronchocele, and in the removal of chronic enlargements 
of the glands, in the mountainous districts of the Continent. In 
the British dominions, the Spongia officinalis ( Sponga lacinu- 
losa , Lamarck ) is recommended as an article of Materia Medica 
by the Colleges of Physicians of London, Dublin and Edin- 
burgh. Sponges form a valuable article of commerce in the East, 
and some islands of the Mediterranean export no other article of 
trade. 
The species of this animal were studied, — their characters 
were described, — their phenomena in the living state were ob- 
served, — and their uses in the arts were known, by the Greeks 
more than 2000 years ago. It is pleasing to observe, that our 
forefathers, at such a remote period, were occupied, like ourselves, 
among the rocks of the sea-shore, experimenting on this humble 
and apparently insignificant being ; and, if we possessed entire 
the writings of the naturalists of that period, particularly of those 
alluded to by Aristotle on the shores of the Toronian Gulf, 
there would, probably, be nothing new in the details of the fol- 
lowing inquiry. Aristotle gives an account, in his usual brief 
manner, of the theories which had prevailed among naturalists 
before his time, concerning the vitality of the sponge ; and men- 
tions the arguments which had been used to prove that this ani- 
mal is sensitive. It was asserted by some, that the sponge con- 
tracted itself, when an attempt was made to tear it from the 
rock ; and that it embraced more firmly the rock to which it 
was attached, when the winds blew violently upon it, or the 
waves dashed against it. But he does not state this as his own 
opinion ; and he even mentions, that the naturalists of Torona 
doubted the truth of these facts. He gives an account of the 
different kinds of small animals found in the cavities of sponges, 
some resembling the larvae of moths, or other winged insects ; 
others resembling earth-worms. He particularly describes the 
Pinnopholaces ( Pinnotheres of Latreilie ) or small pea-crabs, as 
VOL. XIII. NO, 25. JULY 1825. 
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