The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-31

indebted TO trade dishonesty. Sponges new
or grow on a sandy bottom. The sand Is
added i'm the bales. to make them weigh
more. To escape this fraud. merchants
nowadays commonly buy their spougcs by
the piece and not by weight
The sponge grounds OF Florida cover an
area of $500 square miles. They extend
along the south end of the state and up
the west shore TO 81. Marks and Appala-
chez Bay The fishery employs "A large
fleet of vessels. which have their rendcz-
vous at Key West Each craft starts out
for "A trip of about six days. returning at
the end of that time to the nearest shore
where the catch is deposited In "a sort Of
pen between low water and high water
marks. As the sponges rot. the decaycd
animal substance is carried away by the
recurrent tides. They are pretty well skel-
'ctonizcd by the time the vessel comes back
with another load. The rotted sponges are
then hung all over the rigging Of the vcs-
sci which departs for another trip. The
smell they make is said to be the most
fearful ina ginable. After a month or two
of this sort of work. cargo is secured,
and the vessel starts for Key West The
sponges are stacked on the beach. sorted
into kinds, and traders bid for them. Fin
ally they are packed in bales under by
draulc pressure and shipped to New York.
which Is the sponge market of the United
States.
The sponges are gathered by small
boats. In each boat are two men; one
SOULS, while tho other leans over the
bow. When he sees a sponge, ne spears
it and drags II aboard. II the water Is
rough, he uses a water glass" which
is simply an ordinary pail with glass
bottom. The pail is hung around tho
neck of the fisherman, who sinks it be-
low the surface when he wishes to see.
In this way he can get a perfect view Of
the bottom. In the Mediterranean
sponges are collected usually by dredges.
but sometimes by naked divers.
The sponges OF commerce are warm wa
ter animals. They come chiefly from the
Mediterranean. the Red sea. the Bahamas.
and Florida. They are graded not only
according to species, but by size and
shape. The finest quality Of sponge may
be valueless If deformed. and the charac-
ter Of the bottom has an influence on the
growth of the animal sponges some
times grow I'm queer places There Is a
kind Of spider crab which, for the pur-
pose of Disgusting itself, plants bits of
sponge upon its back. so that in the course
of time II becomes literally an ambulatory
| sponge and a morsel such as no fish or
| other animal would care so gobble. There
| are some fresh-water species Of sponges,
| but they have no value. Skeletons OF
glass sponges from deep water off the
| few years ago, being mistaken for works
of Oriental art.
Among the most beautiful things that
live I'm the ocean are the sponges of the
great depths. Not least remarkable are
the so-called sea nests. which are
spherical or sometimes eSg-shaped. The
outer coat of one of these is a compli-
Gated network, over which a delicate
membrane is spread. An ornamental frill
adorns the upper part while the lower
portions throw out a maze Of glossy fla
ments like fine white hairs These hairs
penetrate the semi-huid mud in every
direction, thus holding the sponge in It's
place. Another singular sponge is the
glass rope" which sends down into the
mud a coiled wisp of filaments as thick
as a knitting needle. The latter opens
out into a brush, fixing the creature in
place after the manner Of a screw pile.
Still another remarkable sponge is found
in deep water off the Loffoden Islands 1t
| spreads out in a thin circular cake, sur
rounded by what looks like a fringe OF
white floss silk. Yet another curiosity
is the "eupectella" sponge Of the Philip
pines. which lives half embedded In mud
and supported by lovely frlll.