The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-06

half inches in diameter and about sixty
feet in length. The sponge hook, with an
ordinary wooden pail having glass bottom
and known as water glass, complete the
working tools of the Florida sponger. The
water glass is used onlY when The weather Is
cloudy or the water ruffled by breeze IL is
half submerged in the sparkling sea, and
by, looking into it the sponge can be seen at
a depth OF sixty feet. The boat is pulled
slowly ahead and stopped directly over the
resting place Of the sponge.
1t IS a singular fact that no Improvement
has ever been made in the art Of sponge
catching, and the method as described is the
only one known 10 the easy-gOing, good
natursd native. An attempt was once
made TO introduce the diving system, and
four expert Mediterranean divers were
brought over and put TO work. The scheme
was shortly abandoned on account of the
iron shoes Of the imported workmen tramp
ing upon the young sponge, aud also be-
cause the entire sponge was taken up So that
none would again grow, while il taken up
with the hook there was always enough left
to gro Y again
The Turks have law prohibiting diving
for sEonges and in May, 1889, the Florida
legislature passed IAN act t. protect the
sponge fisheries on tie coast OF Florida and
to punish the gathering or catching of
sponges by diving either with or without
diving suits OF armar."
Hundreds of fishermen are employed
every day in the year hunting over the
sponge banks. and the ground has been
tTaversed by those well acquainted with
every turn and popularity of the reefs thou
sands Of times. SponRes representing mill
ions of dollars in value have boon taken out,
aud the supply seemingly is inexhaustible.
The fine sleeps wool sponge, formerly found
in profusion between Key West and Cape
Florida, are becoming rare, but sponges SIX
feet in circumference and fifteen inches
high are Occadonally secured, selling from
$50 to SIPS for exhibition purposes.
HOW THE sPoNGEs ARE TREATED.
After the sponge is taken from the water
it is exposed to the sun for forty-eight
hours. 1t is next thrown into the water
"cra Wis., which are enclosures or pens
formed by stakes Here thev remain for a
week, becoming cleaused of all glutinous
matter, and the covering or sliu which
forms from exposure 10 the sun is loosened.
They are then beaten with clubs and again
thrown INTO The "cTawls" This process of
washing out and beating is kept up until all
the animal matter is removed. They are
next strung up in punches according to size
and allowed to dry.
WORKING on SHARES.
In this shape they are brought to market
and sold as follows: Each bidder puts his
price on a card with his initias,and hands it
TO the owner, who retains the highest aud
returns the others. Should he no wever,
refuse to sell 10 the highest bidder, and the
crew demand their wages. the skipper set
ties with them accordingly. The proceeds
OF the trip are divided as follows: One
half is taken by the owner as the vessel's
share; the remainder is divided in shares
among the master and crew, the master
getting small percentage more than the
foremost hands.
The spOnges are then taken to the pur-
chasers' warehouse, whele they are trimmed
by men with stout shears. The sponges are
then dipped in a solution of lime and water
for tae purpose OF bleaching, and are ex.
p sed TO the sun for several days, until they
are perfectly dry, when they ere ready for
the market
The fleet Of spongers usually make four
trips year, returning with their cargoes ia
march, June, September and November,
the last mouth generally yielding the largest
catches. There are many varieties Of
spoages, viz, the sleeps wool, the yellow,
toe grass sponge, the velvet and the glove
sponge, all differing in quality and price, the
Sleeps wool being the highest priced, and
selling at Key West at 81 and 50 IS per
pound. The other sells at from Is cents to
81 so per pound