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“ of magnitude, without being fenfible to the touch, 
” being an inanimate body j all the fenlitive life be- 
“ longing to the worms. 
“ He then tells us, that with the flaver or juice 
“ they depofit, they make the fponge encreafe or 
“ grow, as bees and watps, and elpecially the wood- 
lice of America, encreafe their nefts and cells.” 
This account appearing fo contrary to the proceed- 
ing of nature in the formation of the other kindred 
marine bodies, called Zoophytes, fuch as corals, ke- 
ratophytons, and alcyoniums, particularly the laft ; 
I was determined to find out the truth of this 
extraordinary difcovery, which I found had been 
thought worthy of a place in our Tranfadions. 
Accordingly, in the year 1762, when we were 
together at the fea fide at Brighthelmftone, we differed 
carefully the fpongia medullam panis referens^ or crumb 
of bread fponge, in hopes of difcovering the fmall ani- 
mals that were fuppofed to fabricate them ; and were 
fuprized to find a great number of fmall worms in 
them, particularly a very fmall kind of nereis^ or 
fea-fcolopendra : but thefe worms appeared evident- 
ly, inftead of being the fabricators of it, to have 
pierced their way into its foft fubftance, and made 
it only their place of retreat and fecurity. After this, 
we proceeded along the fea coafi: to Little Hampton, 
near Arundel, on the coafi; of Suflex, where we took 
up out of the fea feveral fpecimens of the fame fort 
of fponge full of an orange-coloured gelatinous mat- 
ter ; and, while they were jufi: frefii from the fea, 
we examined them (after they had refled for fome 
time) in glalTes of fea water ; and to our great fur- 
prize, inftead of feeing any of the polype-like fuckers, 
O o 2 or 
