New-York tribune., 1899-12-11
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
nR HALLS WORK ON FosslLlzED
SPONGES

S" Stss4 Of New-York) Folio, PIP. $50 New New
york and Albany: Wynkoop Hallenoeck' Cra"-
ford Company
tossu which WAS found In the Chemung
oobs =, steuben County, n. V In lS4Z' puz-
zled the naturalists greatly. One OF thein re
garded II as a cephalopod. more OF less uiS
tant relative Of the cutie fish, Larohel
nuxenn however thought that it was aiiieo 10 '''e
a,eee and classed it as marine pant O'n''
-,uoons were discovered in the upper De-
-,,r and Waverly rocks of this country from
,,r,e N time. but until about 1851 the hcoi'I-
s,otoress ~ the fossils made identification all
aou,, Some OF these bodies obtained at Oia"
<ordsville Ind, exhibited a feature '"a'
characteristic OF sponges-a tiny sPieu'e W
mineral matter. With this important cle" ~
u yyh;tAA,d now OF the Museum Of Natural
History in this city, determined 'ie"
nature They were pronounced to be rerhai"s
- soorses and that verdict was promptly ac-
.es -, ,bo sc,entiAc world. The late James
1Iou long state geologist Of New-1orK' was
,hor inna,led to dlfferentate from other spohses
naw FAMILY. which he called dictyospongio@'
Aud ,,s+ before his death he had almost COM
,o.ad an elaborate monograph emoodylhs al
the available information on this SUBJECT ''iii'
NJ clarke who had assisted Dr. Han III 'ne uii
dertaking has carried the enterprise throusn'
and as a result of their joint laoors mag gum
-. ard coniously illustrated volume was re-
.,, ,ssued from the press of the Wynkoop'
pal,enbeck. Crawford Company, at Albany
The sponge has always presented dlfficut
nroblems Most Of the latter have no" oeei!
solved although there still remain nuhlpei VI
noints on which the authorities are not uhaiii-
,,ors The elastic. flbrous material commonly
known as sponge is the product OF a Coloh' VI
organisms. lust as the coral is. The minute
nd
,,on are more highly organized than the Great
rres which make a sponge. But In both III
stences II is by their works that men Know
them.
A snonge colony exists in the walls or a sac
,,re hodv perforated with countless canaIs
through which water is pumped inward lroili
The exterior of the sponge. The huid Is lorceu
ont again through one or more large openings
from the chamber within. Besides the organ
isms which do the pumping, and which TOT 'iia'
purpose are provided with whplash arms there
are others which build up the body or nesh Oh
the sponge The body is usually strengthened
and stiffened in one Of two ways-either oy the
production OF flexible. horny fibres or the deposit
=, ro,rera, matter in the form of spicues. Only
.ha ebrous sponges are useful to man. The
others are too brittle and harsh for service
The classification of sponges Is based, not on
the living organisms themselves. but on the
structure OF their abodes. The skeleton may oe
6brous and without spicules or 1t may nave oo'h
characteristics and the spicules may be caicare-
Gus or scious. Scious sponges are suo-
divided according TO the forms OF the sPicuies
Halls Dictyospongids are silicious' with spicu'e'
,h,oh ore six nointed but are still further char
acterized by the peculiar network OF the ou'e'
walls made up of vertical and cross rods.
EN,,nip q AZ. u
similar arrangement but. as DR.. Hall says
there Is no such multiplication of the meshes OS
subdivision as occurs in the Dctyospongid@
11a odds that few thin walled silicous sponges
are likely TO he found which will not fail WITHIN
the limits here prescribed.
DR. Hall divides the Dctyospongide into seven
sub-families some Of which contain scarcely
more than a single genus, and not more than
ono or two species Others are much more eX-
tensive Altogether he enumerates l2S species,
of which only four are marked doubtful" The
late state Geologist anticipates the possibility
that some one may think that he has needlessly
multiplied species But he says that II in this
work what may seem TO be traits of lesser value
are digniied with specific distinction 1t Is De-
cause such distinctions are. in the existing state
OF our knowledge the truest expression OF these
relations az well as the most convenient denom-
ination" A few foreign specimens are included
In his category. but the great majority are
American and products of the Chemung group
OF rocks.
In so many ways have bacteria baleful or
benehcent influence upon mans welfare that an
acquaintance with their differences and their
activities is essential to the general public as
well as to sanitary and industrial experts. 1t Is
fortunate, therefore that enc who is so well
~ crtIin
George Newman Of Kings College, London,
should have undertaken the preparation Of a
book relating to H. His work. Bacteria, Espe-
cially as Related to the Economy Of Nature, to
Industrial Processes and to the Public Health"
(G p Putnam's Sons). is clear, comprehensive.
accurate and up TO date.
After treating the natural history OF these
minute organisms, DR.. Newman roughly CLASH
hes them according to the vehicles through
which they reach man. Water is liable to con-
tain the microbes Of typhoid, diphtheria, cholera
and pus producing maladies. The air carries
fewer bacteria than is generally supposed, but
the germs Of tuberculosis and other diseases
ordinarily imprisoned IN sputum can be lib
Grated and do harm when the moisture dries
such disease producing bacteria found ir
the atmosphere are usually caught by the wet
nasal passages when inhaled. and seldom trave
far enough to work mischief Many OF the
microbes that float in the air. however. are ca
pable OF causing more serious evil than ttt
production OF mould or fermentation.
The soil abounds in bacteria The specific
germ of tetanus is more frequently discovered
there than elsewhere. Soil that has become
contaminated with sewage is apt TO contain
the microbes Of typhoid and diarrh6o. Thi:
is the abiding place Of large number Of
organisms whose function in nature is not wei
understood, although they are known to have
the power OF breaking up dead organic matter
that is found in the soil. These creatures are
known as "saprophytes" Then there are the
.nitrifying" bacteria, which assist in chemica
nrocess which puriaes water that is infected
and those nitrogen fixing organisms which pro-
mote vegetation.
Food sturfs and especially milk. are the chosef