The freeman. (Fremont [Ohio]) 1849-1850, 1849-11-17
Method of Obtaining the Sponge.

The sponge of commerce is found attached to
rocks in various depths between three fathoms and
thirty When alive it is of dull blush back above
and ola dirty white beneath There are several
qualities possibly indicating as many distinct spe-
cies. The best are taken among the Cyclades-
The sponge divers, however, are mostly people
from the islands of the Carian coast; from Calym-
nous,and the islands between calymnor and Rhodes
They go in little fleets of caiques, each of six or
seven tons burden, and manned by six or eight
men. The season for the fishery lasts from May un-
til September. All the men dive in turn They
remain under water from to 8 minutes They
descend to the bottom at various depths between
five fathoms and twenty, or even though rarely.
thirty. Very few of the Archipelago divers can
descend so deep as the last named depth and it is
doubtful weather they can work in such case Some
years ago, diver asserted he had bent a rope
round the beam of Turkish frigate, sunk in thirty
fathoms water off Scio. Mr. Love, when engaged
in raising the guns of some of the sunken ships,
confirmed his statement, by finding the rope still
bent round the beam. In deep water, rope
weighed by stone is let down, by which the
the divers ascend when they have gathered the
sponges. They carry nothing about their person
except a netted bag which is attached to a hoop
suspended round their necks, in this they place the
sponges. In good locality, diver may bring up
fifty okes of sponges in day. A very large spon-
LAd( WcLEu bhO OhSS lie HelSIlL Is CdICuldlcu
from the the sponges when they are dried. A
sponge is dried in the sum- after being cleansed in
sea-water, fresh water rots and turns It black The
Shiny or animal ma ter is stained out by the div
er's feet When dried the sponges are strung in
circles. They are sold at twenty-five drachms an
oke. The chief markets for then are Smyrna,
Rhodes and Napoli.
The sponge fisheries were probably conducted a.
mong the ancient Greeks as they now are. Hence,
information being obtainable with facility, we find
a full account of the sponge in the writings Of
Aristotle. He appears to have been deeply inter-
ested in its history account of the link it seemed
to present between animal and vegetable natures.
Therefore the question weather sponges possessed
sensation, is discussed by him more than once,
and left undecided the statement for and against
their capacity of feeling are, fairly put forward
The same question is debated among naturalists at
the present day, and, as ancently, there are not
wanting advocates for either view. Aristotle dis
tinguished sponges under two heads, those that
might be cleaned, and those that could not OF
the last, he states that their substance was COM
pact, perforated by large canals. They were
more viscous than other sponges, and when dried
remained black. The description exactly applies
to the common coast line sponges Of the Egean
useless for economic purposes. His account oi
the sponges of commerce is more detailed He
distinguished three varieties: those that are lax
and porous; those of thick and close texture; and
third kind, called sponges of Achilles. finer more
compact and stronger than others These last
were rarestand used to be placed in helmets and in
boots, as projections from pressure for the head
and feet. They all grow on the rock, adhering
not by one point only, nor by the whole surface
but by the coast which became suddenly deep
He attributes the superior fineness of texture in
these deep-sea kinds to the greater uniformity
of temperature of the water in such places
When alive, and before they are washed, they
are black. Their canals are often inhabited by
little crustacea Such are the leading points oi
the account given of sponges in the fifth book oil
the history Of the animals
From Spratt and Forbes Lycia.