Miscellaneous. 87 mode of proceeding, he has fallen into a series of errors, many of which I have pointed out in my " Notes on the Arrangement of Sponges, &c." in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society ' for February, 1868, but which are too numerous to reiterate on the present occasion. Burrowing Annelids. To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Gentlemen, — In Dr. W. C. M'Intosh's paper on the boring of certain Annelids, in the ' Annals ' for October 1868, p. 276, several Annelids are mentioned as burrowing, although I showed, several years ago, that two of the genera enumerated undoubtedly belong to the subkingdom Mollusca, and two of the Serpulids mentioned never burrow. The genera Stoa and Spiroglyphus are provided with a midtispiral lid, which never is found in any Annelid. I have examined many specimens in spirit, which place it beyond doubt that these two genera belong to the Yermetidae *. I hope that this much-read journal will contribute to the exclu-sion of these two genera from the Annelids. Abildgaard only states that he got two Serpulids from a surgeon, who extracted them from holes in the " marble rocks " and " chalk stones " below water on St. Croix. As the surgeon, on inquiry, asserted that they did not live in calcareous tubes, Abildgaard called them stone-borers. I have examined numerous specimens of Spirobranchus (Cymo-spira) imbedded in coral, but I have never been able to discover any dissolving power of the Annelid. All specimens have been overgrown by the coral ; but it seems that the Serpula, in the struggle for existence, is never completely imbedded before its death. Nor have I ever seen, in groups of Serpula;, dissolved parts as in Vermetidae. I doubt whether any tubiferous Annelid (Ser-pida) can burrow. I may add that Swammerdam (Biblia Naturae, 1735, vol. i. p. 182, tab. ix. f. 15-17) has given an excellent account of an Annelid burrowing in Littorina littorea. I am, Gentlemen, Tour most obedient Servant, Copenhagen, Frederiksborggade, Dr. 0. A. L. MoRCH. November 29, 1868. Contributions to the Fauna of the Gulf-Stream at great depths. By L. F. de Pourtales, Assist. IT. S. Coast Survey. The author introduces his paper, describing the species observed by him, with the following remarks. The study of the constitution and of the inhabitants of the bottom of the sea is a field of research which has attracted the attention of * Morch, " Review of Vermetidfe," Proc. of the Zool. Society of London, 1861 ; and Journal de Conchyliologie, vols. vii. and viii. 1860, "Notice sur le genre Vermet."
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