The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-06-12
HOW SPONGESARE CAUGHT.
ONE OF FLoRIDA's IMPORTANT IN.
DUSTRIES.
The Great Coral Reefs Along the
Coast-Sponge Fishing Not Easy
Work-Different Varieties.

coast, along the reefs, and to the exter-
sive rocky shoals, that lie between Marks
and Anclote Keys. Accurately speaking,
the sponge reef begins few miles east of
Appalachicola, and hugs the coast to
within fifty miles of Cedar Keys. Then
there is break of 100 miles, after which
It reappears and runs south without in
terruption to Key West and the Bahama
Islands. This reef, a rocky ridge, some
times of genuine limestone, but generally
Of coral, begins some six or eight miles
from shore and continues out indefinitely.
Wherever there is rocky bottom sponges
are said to be found, and the only reason
why the fisheries do not extend completely
around the gulf coast is that in places, as
of the coast of Texas or Cedar Keys, this
rocky bottom begins in water too deep to
permit of profitable sponging. The aver
age depth of water on the st. Marks
reef at six miles from land is sixteen feet
The sponges are in great abundance and
Of good quality. The supply is practi-
cally inexhaustiable, as they grow almost
as fast as gathered, a sponge requiring
only about two years to reach maturity.
Nearly all of the spouges used in the
United States were brought from the
Mediterranean until 1852, when attention
was called to the immense numbers that
were growing in Florida waters. As soon
as it was found that the quality of these
compared favorably with those of Europe
the merchants and fitters-out of vessels of
Key West engaged very actively in the
business of placing them on the market
At first the best qualities were bought
from the fishermen at the rate of ten cents
per pound. As Mediterranean spongeS
became scarce and costly, the Florida
sponges came into more demand, and
their value increased proportionately.
After about eighteen years fishing upon
the known ground the supply began to
fail. Then, in 1870, new area of
ground, larger than the old one, was dis
covered, and this gave a new impetus to
the trade. In that year Appalachicola
sent out a small feet of sponge vessels
which has since been largely increased.
During the past eighteen years the busi.
ness has been energetically pursued with
good results.
The methods employed in the fishery
differ greatly from those employed in the
Mediterranean, where divers 80 down and
bring up the sponges. Small vessels,
carrying crews of from five to fifteen
men, are fitted out at Key West and
Appalachicola, for trips of from four to
eight weeks on the sponge grounds. The
crews are paired off into small rowboats,
or "dingies," to catch the sponges. One
man stands in the stern, sculling the
boat, while the other kneels in the bot
tom amidships, with the upper half Of
his body leaning over the side, and scans
the bottom of the sea. To aid the eye
an instrument called ''water glass, :"
which is a common water bucket whose
wooden bottom has been replaced by one
of glass, is used by setting it in the water
and thrusting the face as far into it as
convenient. When sponge is sighted
the boat is stopped, and the kneeling man
uses a two-pronged hook, attached to a
slender pole thirty or forty feet in
length, to secure it. Considerable deX-
terity is required of both men. To cure
the sponges they are first spread about
the vessels deck in their natural upright
position, so that they will die, and while
decomposing allow the gelatinous matter
to run off freely. When they have been
several days in this position they are
taken to the shore and thrown into the
water in little pens, called "crawls, p"
where the remaining substance is soaked
and squeezed out.
The spongers thus work on, day after
day, under tropical sun that burns and
browns the skin until one cannot tell
white man from a negro. 1t is a desper-
ately hard life, more severe than any other
that one can think Of and it requires men
of no ordinary constitution to stand up to
it. The spongers are therefore naturally
an exceedingly muscular set.
The principal season for this fishery is
the summer, from May to August, but the
best conditions of the water are in winter
and a great deal of the fishing is then
carried on with success. During the
hurricane months of August, September
and March the vessels are nearly all laid
up. The state of the weather greatly
affects the result of the fishery. When
the water is made rough and rolly by
long-continued strong winds sponge catch
ing becomes impracticable In some
years the fishery has been a complete
failure, while in others it has been very
profitable, always owing TO the weather.
As the natural beds of sponges have be
come scarcer prices have advanced, so that
even if a vessel does not secure as large
quantity in a given time as formerly the
financial result is about the same.
There are several varieties of sponges
caught in the Florida waters. There are
first, Sleeps wool, which sell for 81 to
IS a pound; second, yellow spouges,
which sell for 20 to so cents per pound,
and third, grass sponges, which are coarse
in texture, and not durable and sell for
10 to 20 cents per pound. When these
are marketed they are trimmed and cleaned
of sand and shells, and then pressed into
small bales of 100 to 120 pounds each in
which form they go to the wholesale
dealers. Some attempts have been made
during the past three years to cultivate
the more valuable kinds of sponges, and
in some instances the experiment has met
with success. 1t seems probable that the
future supply of the sleeps wool variety
will depend upon some such action as
this Besides being scarcer along the
sponge reef, this variety grows slower
than the coarser kinds, and the demand
for it is always greater than the suDply.