Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-05-05
SPON(iES.

lii tlidl lll3nN Oh Us nave u>ct them All
our lives without stopping to admire
their curious and interesting structure.
or to inquire into the history of their
past lives. We may. indeed. have no.
ticed that they can be squeezed into Il
very small space, and that they will re-
turn to their natural shape when the
pressure i, removed. We have perhaps
noticed also that they are full of little
holes or pores. and that they will ;ib-
sorb an astonishing quantity of water.
You know there has been Il doubt
whether >ponge> belong To the animal
or to the vegetable kingdom. For Il
long time naturalistS were in doubt about
the matter, but il is now settled that
they are animals, living and growing on
the bottom of the ocean. The only part
of the sponge that reaches us is the
skeleton. The living sponge is Il very
different object. Shall we see what we
can find out about ito
Upon naming the word animal" r
picture comes before our minds of some
creatures having Il mouth To eat with.
and eyes 10 see with. and possessing
feet or wings. or some other means of
moving about; but the sponges are far
from this. They are probably the low
est animals with which YOU are ac-
quaintcd. They have no nerves. no
heart, no lungs. no mouth and no stom-
ach.
Live spongeS consist of Iellv-like
bodies. united in 4 mass. and supported
by framework of horny iibers. and
needlc-shaped objects called '.>piculcS."
This jellv-like flesh. covering all parts
of the skeleton, is about as thick Is the
white of an egg. but it decays immedi-
ately after the death of the sponge.
During life the flesh presents many
bright colorS; i'll some species it is of Il
brilliant green. while in others it is or
ange, red, yellow. etc.
The framework varies in different
kinds of sponge. In those which are
valuable for our use it consists of horny
iibers interviewer in all directions until
they form Il mass of lacy network. This
you can easily see with the naked eye,
but by looking through microscope
you will see beauty YOU had not imag-
ined, and which but for this valuable
instrument would never have been
dreamed of. In our ordinary spongeS
these Gbers are all that remain of the
former living animal. the soft flesh hay
ing been removed. 1t is found that the
horny fibers are composed of substance
very similar to the silk of silk-worm's
cocoon. They are exceedingly tough
and durable. Most of us have discover
ed that good sponge becomes like an
old and tried friend, and that unless il
is abused it seems rs if it might never
wear out.
In looking at any sponge YOU will
notice large holes through ii, with many
small pores scattered between them.
The living sponge is constantly drawing
in water ut the small pores. This water
passes through set of branching canals,
and is thrown out from the large holes
on the surface. With 4 microscope little
fountains may be seen constantly play
ing from the large holes of living
sponge. The circulation is kept up in
the canals by the movement of &c ella"
which are delicate threads waving gent
" but continually. The word ella
means "eyelaShes;' let usremember it,
for this is Il name we shall often want to
use. The stream of water thus passing
through the sponge brings to every part
air it needs for breathing purposes.
Everything that lives must eat and
breathe. but how is the sponge to eat
without mouth? When the food
touches any part of its body, the soft.
jelly-like flesh sinks in to form little
bag; at the same time the surrounding
parts creep out over the morsel of food,
until it is entirely covered and digested
After this the flesh returns to its original
position, and any shell or other refuse
that remains from the meal is washed
away.
Sponges have q curious manner of
producing their young. At certain sea-
sons very small oval masses of jelly are
formed on the inner surface of the ca
nails. which finally drop off. They re-
main in the canals for time, and be-
come perfect eggs. after which they are
thrown out by the stream issuing from
the fountains, and instead of falling to
the bottom, as we might suppose such
helpless masses of Jelly would do, they
swim around as if they meant to have a
little sport before commencing the sober
realities of life.
You will be interested to know that
while these jelly-!ike eggs were resting
in the canals of the parent sponge, deli
cate ella (Which we learned about Just
now were forming at one end of the
egg. These ella strike the water with
rapid motion. and the eggs are rowed
about through it until they settle down
ard attach themselves to some rock OF
shell on The bottom of the ocean. and
finally grow up into the perfect sponge.
The waters are swarming with these
eggs at certain seasons, and great guam
fties of them are eaten by larger ami.
mails.
Sponges are common in nearly nj
parts Of the world. and they differ
greatly in size and quality. but few
species being useful 10 man. Some
species are nearly round. others are al,
ways cup-shaped, some top-shapcd. and
some branched. 4 frcsh-water sponge
is frequently found in our streams.
growing upon sticks and stones. Ii is
of q bright green. and when seen under
the water in flood of sunlight it is
very pretty.
The spicules of spon@cs grow in 4
variety of elegant shapes. but they are
. visible only with 4 microscope. They
are composed Of lime or flint, and are
generally sharp-pointed. They are inn
bedded in the flesh is We'll Is in the
horny tiberS. thus serving to protect the
helpless creatures from being devoured
by fish and other animals la our fine
sponges, the skeleton is almost desti-
tute of spicules. while in some others
the flesh is supported wholly by spic-