226 Mr. 11. J. Carter on Deep-sea XX. — Descriptions and Figtircs of Deep-Sea Sponges and their S2>iculcs, from the Atlantic Ocean, dredged upon hoard H.M.S. ^Porcupine,^ chief y in 1S69 [concluded). By H. J. Carter, F.R.S. «S:c. [Plates XII.-XVI.] In July 1871 Prof, (now Sir) C. Wyville Thomson asked me if I would undertake to describe the s})onges dredged up on board H.M.S. ' Porcupine ' in 1869, to which I consented, when I had finished arranging the collections of sponges in the British ^Museum about which I was then engaged. In June 1872 Prof. Thomson sent me 108 jars containing these sponges in spirit, besides some small boxes containing dried specimens. Most of the former had labels on them; but the latter were without any. Prof. Thomson Avas then busily en-gaged in preparing for the expedition of H.M.S. 'Challenger;' and all that he had time to state was that the jars Avere labelled in accordance with the numbers of the stations and depths on the Charts which accompanied the " Preliminary Report of the Scientific Expedition of the Deep Sea in H.]\1.S. ' Porcu-pine ' during the sunmier of 1869 " (Proceed, lioyal Soc. no. 121), and that I might use them as I liked for the purpose mentioned, only leaving them in " some kind of order "when their descriptions had been completed. On their an-ival, I first numbered all the jars and dried spe-cimens with a running number of my own, which they still bear. Then every specimen, both fragmentary and entire, was sketched and examined microscopically, and the sketch and microscopic detail placed under these numbers respectively. After this, Avhatever figures the labels on the jars bore were added to their respective numbers. Thus, having secured a memorandum of all that I possessed in this way in case of accident, the whole was laid aside for deliberate examination when the opportunity offered — that is, when I had finished my examination and arrangement of the collections of sponges in the British Museum. Soon it became evident to me from the latter that I must make a "classification" for myself; for nothing that had been produced would suffice for this purpose ; and hence I was obliged to postpone describing the greater part of the sponges dredged up on board H.M.S. ' Porcupine ' until this was com-pleted and printed ('Annals,' 1875, vol. xvi. p. 1 &c.). Meanwhile, in 1873, I published a paper on two Gumminea;, one of which came from the ' Porcupine ' ('Annals,' vol. xii. p. 17) ; then a paper on the Hexactinellidfe and Lithistidce, in 1873, wherein the specimens of Ajjhrocallistes Bocagei,
BioStor
