The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-05-28
Narycls Of the Deep sea.

Tho oudon Times. reviewing Dr. NvVtnc
Tbomsn,:s account Of the dredging cruises
cr her Maic,,y's ships rorcupine and Light
ming iuring the summers al zoos. 1907. III"
1870. summarizes As follows:
The neither darkness. then. so far from
heinc a litcIcsS waste, teens Almost every
where with creatures not only more iah,ast'c
hut larger than their shalIow-water COUSINS
and the Iaddlcr about rock-pools ana adc-
sands at watcring-plaCes will learn from this
book that far away at sea. over that loo-latbohl
line to the westward which marks the ancient
shore ul the European continent, are found
sea monsters far bigger. Is we'll ~ far ,lglirr
and far more beautiful. than were ever trans
fcr,,,i to an aquarium that. To give TWO w,
stances, the caprclla. 1.-The phantom SHRIMP
which NAV I've found on >eawccti, slitihS ut
right like a monkey, holding on by ms NINA
claws. and. with CHASTITY grlnaces, n'cSNlci
jz,ng all n,sScrs-by with his fore claws. Sis
IN like -uisc upon sponge mile or TWO
,lrrr in the darkness there. however. not
.u,rtcr oC an inch. but three inches long
and that the pymphons-Sca spiders, VINO
crawl out from under stones. and who, nav
M no body TO speak Of. carry their stomach.
tor economy of space. packed IN long branches
M the inside of each lcg-arc found In the
depths of the Arctic sta, not as here, hall
an inch. but two feet in diameter.
1t i impossible To give even sketch OF
,hc geological treasures which have been
brought to light by these cru ises OF the
l.ightning and Porupine, not forgetting
those ot the swedish naturaStS ana OF the
Yacht Mona. whose owner. Mr.. Marsllaii HAN,
we horc may he em.ilated by other yacht
men. Among their discoveries are true
worms. sca-urchinS. star-hsh, including The
magnificent and novel BrimSa, worthnv
named after the goddess Frcya'S iarorite
1cw.l. Ornoids {" Stalked flowers of living
>tone''), corals. and, above all. sponges OF
forms either new or till now known only as
fossil, or strangely enough as inhabitants Of
shallow water. But the strangcSt. as well as
the most beautiful inhabitants of the deep
sea ooZe, are the CLASSY sponges in which
The skeleton Is composed, not OF horny
nbreS rs in the sponges OF our dressing
rooms. but of flexible flint. often more
delicate than the finest spun glass. The best
known of these is the Venus flower. basket,
or Euplcctclla. which lives imbcdded in the
,n,,, nf the seas of the Philippines, support
I'd hv a class frill "standing up around It
like a Queen Elzabeth'S ruff Twenty
wears AGO there was but one known Specl-
men in Europe. IL may he now bought Tor
IuS. or less. in any curiosity shop; amt II
i strange that thls--one of the most eXqui-
site. both in form and texture, of all natural
objects is not oitencr seen, even already, rs
a tirawing.room ornament. Equally curious,
even more puZzling in its construction, Is
the "ass-rope sponge. or Hyaoncma. which
roots itself in the mud hy twisted wi>p OF
stron" flint needles. somewhat on the princi,
pic of Il Screw-ppe. So strange and conpIlca'
ted is the structure that learned men Tor Il
long while could literally make neither
iicad nor tail of it, Us long a. they bad only
Japanese specimens TO study. Which was
top and which bottom. which the thing
Itself and which the parasites growing on II
whether it was sponge. ora Zoophyte or
Somcthiu. else. could not be settled. and Is
in some mems minds scarcely settled now.
But the discovery of the same, or closely
allied species. in abundance from the Butt OF
the LEWIS down to Sctuha, on the coast ol
Portugal where the >hark-tiShcrS call il " sea-
whlp.' has given our sGr6HS specimens
cu"n.h OF which to make up their minds.
aud hl> added another form to the list of
those common. strangely cnough.t TO our seas
and to those of Japan. Scarcely less bea,li-
ful and strange are the lioltcnias and their
co"ratc forms hollow >ponGcS built up OF
CLASSY spicue>, and rooted in the mud hE
yltSN hairs. in some c;lse> between two and
three feet long, ;is flexible and graceful is
trr>,ca OF Suow-white silk.