The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1898-12-24
SPONGE CULTURE.
A Proposal to Garry It On by
Artificial Means.
Reckless Fishing Threatening to Exter-
inmate the Natural Supply of
tho Great Producing
Gentera sR

SeVeTd1 causes nave TtCt1tly COIN
bined to reduce the supply of sponges
in the American market. The paralysis
of ali industry in Cuba in consequence
of the civil war now prevailing there
is one of them. The West Indies, Ba-
hamas and Florida are the principal
centers of production in this part OF the
world Reckless fishing, which threat
ems 70 exterminate the sponges, much
as similar proceedings do the seals off
the coast of Alaska, is another factor in
the situation These facts lend
peculiar interest to the propo-
sition recently made to The
United States government, through
its consular agent at Mitylene, by a
Greek named Charalampos Chorphics,
to establish the business of art:fcially
cultivating sponges somewhere on the
Florida coast, if he can get conces
sion. A great deal has been done in the
past, under the auspices of the national
and state fishery commissions, toward
restocking American lakes and rivers
with trout, bass, shad and salmon. with
small fry hatched and nurtured under
human management. Artificial means,
too, have much to do with the culture
of the oyster and the maintenance of
the supply of that bivalve. But the
reasonahleness of the project Of Mr..
Chrophios does not rest alone on these
precedents. Neurological experts in
Washington are said to have shown
confidence in it's pract;cability. They
say that by taking proper measures the
Florida sponge fisheries could be
brought to higher state of productive
ness in few years. The men already
engaged in the industry might not,
however, relish this interference in be-
half of the public.
The tough, soft, elastic, fbrous moss
which is to be had at the druggists, UNI
der the name of sponge, is really the
skeleton which once supported whole
colony Of jelly-lilye creatures which
have built up that structure. These
propagate, naturally, in two ways, by
means OF spores or eggs, and by the
formation of buds which eventually
split off from the mature polyp. The
| pi oSSSo' oh
/ plan which utilizes both of those
methods, but is like common practice
n horticulture. He simply cuts up the
tenement house of colony into num-
Der of pieces, employing sharp Knife
or razor for the purpose, and conduct
ing the operation while the pulpy mass
is still under water. He is also careful
to leave a portion of the original outer
surface on each fragment. Each bit
may then be loaded with a small ssone
or other sinker to take it to the bottom
again. A few Of these sections fail to
revive; but the great majority, after
IN interval of two or three months, be-
gin to thrive and eventually grow TO
considerable size.
There are hundreds of distinct sre-
cies of sponges, but scarcely dozen are
suited to mans use. 1t is asserted that
those which are obtained from Medl-
terranean waters are the finest in the
world; yet the delicate "sheep's wool"
and "velvet" sponges of Florida are
wcnders of softness and beauty. And
if a system of artificial culture should
come into vogue these choice varieties
could be produced almost as abundant
ly as the coarser grades are now.-N.
Y. Tribune.