National Republican., 1884-11-06
now spoNeEs ARE CAUGHT.
Shiny Masses OF "Idyer" which be-
come Clean and Dry.

Nassau Lcttcr IN Neto York Times.
The sponRing feet is composed Of small
schooners ranging from ten to forty tons,
or even smaller. Each schooner carries
from four to six men, and makes period
ical trips out to the sponge beds. Around
Abaco, Andres island, and Exuma are
some Of the principal fisheries there are
hardly any of value in the immediate
vicinity Of Nassau. The men do not dive
for them, as sponge fishers in the Med
itcrranean do, but use long-handled things
like oyster tongs to fish them out of the
water. They do not "go 1t blind" and
probe in the mud, like oystermen; in this
clear water they can sec every inch of the
bottom, make up their minds what
sponges to take, aud seize hold Of each
one carefully, detach it from the rock to
which 1t clings, and lift it into the boat.
They are not tho nice delicate, and light
colorcd things we SEQ in shop windows.
When first taken from the water they
look aud feel more like a piece of raw
liver than anything else. They are slip
perry, slimy. ugly, aud smell bad. Their
color is generally sort of brown, very
much like the color OF gulf weed, only n
little darker. Most people are taught, in
the days OF their freshness and innocence,
that the sponge is an animal, and whom
they visit Nassau they expect perhaps to
see spOngcs swimming about the harbor,
If, indeed, they do not surprise some Of
tho moro athletic ones climbing trees or
making little excursions over tho hills.
But they arc disappointed when they
learn that the animal part disappears en-
tircly long before the sponge reaches the
market, aud that tho part we uso for
mcpping up huids is only his house, tho
many.roomed residence In which he shell
tered himself while at sea--a regular ma
rino tenement house, built with great
care and architectural precision, in which
many of tho little beasts lived and died.
| After the sponges reach the deck of the
vessel they are cleaned aud dried and go
| through curing process. They then
become the sponges Of commerce, aud are
divided into eight varieties in the BAHIA
mas.
some, called "lambswoop or " "sheops-
wool" are rs fine and soft as silk and
very strong. Others, although large and
perhaps tough, are coarse and compare
| lively worthless. There are, too, boquet
sponges, silk spongos, wire sponges, and
| finger aud glove spongcs. The process
for curing them is to keep them on deck
for two or three days, which kills
them. Then they are put in crawl and
kept there from eight to ten days, and
are afterward cleaned and bleached to tho
sun on the beach. When they reach
Nassau tho roots are cut of, and the
sponges are trimmed and dressed for ex-
portation. Nearly every darky In Mas
sau understands how to do this trimming
part. Tho symmetry Of the sponge must
be preserved as much as possible, and il
there are any places where coral sand
has adhered to tho sponge, those places
must be cut out, for no amount of skill
or care will get rid Of sand in sponge
and the sand is sure to scratch anything
it touches. The trimming is generally
done very expertly, so that novice
would hardly see that a sponge had been
| cut.