Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 May 1897 — HOW SPONOES ARE SECURED. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOW SPONOES ARE SECURED.

Methods te Obtain Tfcsas -Demand KEceeda the Supply, The sponge belongs to one of th# lowest order* of auinial life. Its skeleton is a strong fibrous substance, and the animal part of it ia a gelatinous matter which tills the pores and covers the entire surface. If this matter Is not removed within a few houra after the sponge has been torn from the rock or stones to which It was fastened it la almost impossible to purify it. The hooking or harpooning methods used iu the Florida and Cuban fishing grounds are useless when the sponges lie In deep water. In some parts of the Mediterranean sea, where very fine sponges are found, the old method of diving Is used. The diver fastens a stone to his feet and with a long rope in his hand goes down feet first. Some divers can remain under water for three minutes at a time. They snatch the sponges from the bottom, working as rapidly as possible. If lucky, the diver fills the little basket he carries, tugs hard at the rope and is drawn to the surface. Another method employed in spongefishing is dredging. The dredge Is a strong, heavy net, from six to eight yards long and about one yard high. It is made of hair cords, with the meshes

about four Inches square. Thla Is dragged along the bottom by a rope attached to the bowsprit of a small sailing vessel. As It passes over the bottom It tears the sponges from their anchorage and they fall Into the net. Of late years divers clad In armor have become common off the Greek coast. They descend in thirty and forty fathoms and bring up the finest nursery and toilet sponges and rare cup sponges. After the sponges are brought to the land they are buried in sand and kept there until they are decomposed. Then they are washed in a running stream of fresh water, carefully dried and packed in bales for the market. If the sponges are not perfectly dry when packed they are liable to catch the cholera, which means that they become heated and are discolored with orange-colored blotches. The demand for fine sponges always exceeds the supply, and some particularly fine cup sponges have brought SIOO a dozen. The prices of Florida sponges have doubled iu the last twenty years, and sponge experts declare that they will be still more expensive. As sponges are sold by weight, dishonest dealers frequently fill the sponges with sand to increase the weight, but this practice Is dying out. The practical value of the sponge lies In its great absorbing capacity and also Is due to the fact that water softens the tissues until they become soft and pliable. Although sponges are found in all tropical or semi-tropical waters, the commercial sponges are confined almost exclusively to the waters of the southern and western coast of Florida, the Bahaman archipelago and to the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The sponges as they are found in their native waters vary in form; some are cup or vgse shaped, others half round, others globular, some are fan shaped and some cylindrical. .

LOOKING FOB SPONGES.