New-York tribune., 1881-12-27
now SPoNGEs ARE 4DULrER4rED.
SAND. LIME AND OTHER SUBSTANCES USED To IL
6pr tCT TuTfr WIfGIT

SAND. LIME AND OTHER SUBSTANCES USED To IN
CREASE THEIR wIIGuT.
"Why say anything about ~ The public de-
Inands cheap spOnpes; the retail dealers know mat
every sponge they sell contains from Thirty 10 sixty
per cent OF foreign matter; and they sell thcm no
n prcr corresponding with the amount of the adult
terauOn. So no one is defmuicd, and Why @"ck to
discover the secrets Of our trade 7"
These remarks were made recently by AN importer
OF spOHgys IN answer 10 reporters question why
there was 50 much sand III his sponge. Ihcm
are only half dozen large sloug. iugOIt-
ing houses III this ty, and, dissatisfied
with the answer 20 his luquuy, the
reporter visited all the other houses. Being neither
an article Of food nora drug hc spon9' does not
strictly under the spccti"atIou' "l the Adult
teratiOn act passed by jBc Lsgsl4turc Ol t- state
al its last session. The substances used $50 LOAD
ing sponge4 are saud iimc marble dust and q
chemically prepared substance, OF which the ingrc-
den It's are Kept secret.
The reasons for this habit rs given by one i'm
porter are sfollows: II ls an old custom derived
from the Greeks. The Mediterranean epungcs have
always been received here filled "Itu very fine
sand ana the hshers OF thccps wool spoHgcs IN
Florida have followed The same practice. Certainly
the purchaser ~ deceived, but II Is MS own Iuit.
lie delnaHd- a rst-cIa-, sponge, ANA Is only w.irg
TO pay what a secOud-t .aaS sponge rs worth We of
cOIIrsc satisfy him by sc lng nm the goods uc
requires at a price equal To hat he would have
paid for sponge oi an lhIciiGi NHihty' but me- i3I
gets that he has purchased ms goods BY weight
and has paid "a pIiCe iOr common sanu lar ABOVE
what hc could get il for Ui "a regular dealer u sand
To illustrate, nave a sponge here worth - % q
pound. 4 customer, q retail dealer, saws ne lk"s
The sponge, but It is 100 expensive, What shall J
do Lose the salcg Not az all. / show hun another
box containing exactly the same grade of sponge,
for which | only ask ~ 70 pound lie
thinks he has made bargain and rs satisfied. The
truth i, he has purchased 80 per cent of sponge and
the same amount of sand, bis sponge really costing
HIM So 90 pound. no is to blamci"
Does not the sand OF lime hurt the quality Of
the spOngcP
No, not much, for il mostly comes out when the
sponge il first wet. IL may iujure the yarnish
carriage little, but that Is at the risk OF the pur-
chaser who aims AT getting his spOnges at reduced
price. You have doubtless noticed that some
spongcs are very white. This due TO the fact that
thew are filled witn lime instead of sand. Lime is
equally deceptive IN regard 10 weight, and Is some
what Injurious to the texture Of the sponge, while
If used III bathing or especially III dressing wounds
II is really dangerous unless great care - taken TO
have all the lime shaken out In this latter II
is posslble that the adultcraton might come under
the provisions of the law against the adulteratIon
of drugs"
is there no remedy for this evil except by egiS-
latIon ~
"There does not seem to be. ] have tried TO have
the other dealers unite with me in agreeing 10 sell
sponges by the piece instead of by weight, and
have advised my customers 10 buy III that way and
some OF them DO 50. Selling by weight is purely an
number of pieces form the only basis of value
L fully recognize the necessity of q TeloGm IN the
matter but one dealer can't accomplish II alone"