The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-23

son Of seven months, which Is about ten
times the usual wage in Tripoli, but in
spite of this the difficulty of securing
rsuficient men for the work is growing.
The sponges that are secured at such
risk of life are the best that are known,
| and are such as are used by surgeons in
delicate operations. They are found in
varying degrees OF fneness along the
shores of the Mediterranean. the possess
ions of Turkey being the best field, while
the Spanish French. and Italian coasts
are devoid of them. They grow at all
depths, from to 100 fathoms, and as the
work of gathering them has continued it
has become necessary to dive deeper and
deeper for them. They do not grow rapid
ly. An ordinary bath sponge, measuring
about foot in diameter, is ten years old
The gathering of sponges of the Tripo-
Titan coast requires the payment of a
good sized license fee to the government
The proprietors send out their boats with
crews of five to twenty men. 1t is i'm
possible to use dredges in bringing them
up for that would tear the delicate or
ganisms. The work is done by divers,
who seldom have diving bells or suits
The diver goes down into the ocean. TAX
ing with him fiat piece Of stone Of a
triangular shape, with hole drilled
through one of the corners. A cord from
the boat is attached to the stone and he
uses it TO guide him. Upon reaching the
growing sponges the diver tears them off
the rocks or cuts them with a sharp
knife, places them under his arms, and
then pulls at the rope, which gives the
signal to the men in the boat to haul him
up. The work is said TO be done not so
well by means of a diving bell. Sponges
obtained by dragging for them are torn
and sell for low prices.
The dangers incurred by the divers are
due to asphyxiation usually, although the
work itself sometimes causes paralysis.
while divers are often cut by the knives.
When the sponge is brought TO the sur
face it is feshy looking substance COW
cred with a firm skin whose openings ap-
pear and disappear at intervals. When
the diver cuts it the interior looks like
raw meat, with numerous canals and cav
tiles. The first thing to be done after the
sponge is brought to the surface is to re-
move the flesh, and this must be done at
once, since otherwise putrefaction would
set in which would destroy the elactic-
ity. This leaves merely the skeleton of
the animal, which has to be further
cleansed before it is ready for the
market.
The skeleton is nearly related in struc-
ture to silk, and this was one of the
points that settled the ancient dispute as
to whether sponges were animal or veg
etable. Their stationary life gave reason
to the belief in their vegetable nature,
while they multiply, like plants. by over
growth and budding. They puzzled sci
entists for centuries, and one authority
regarded them as worm nests. In reality
the sponge is a colony of little animals,
which occupy a sort of apartment house
together. The animals are called polyps,
and, each of them being both male and
female, every individual in the community
is in a position to rear family on its
own account.
The surface of a sponge is covered with
little holes that are larger at the top than
at the bottom, while the whole mass con-
tatrs a system of channels. When the
animal is alive water is kept flowing con-
stantly through these channels by means
of minute hair-like appendages, which
the little polyps agitate. The water thus
drawn in brings with it the food required
for the sustenance of the sponge.
The coarser kinds of sponges are found
in the West Indies and off the Florida
coast as we'll as in the Mediterranean.
But American waters do not contain any
of the finest grade. In Florida attempts
have been made to cultivate sponges and
the industry is successful. The United
States Fisheries commission. on finding
that the PONCE fisheries were becoming
extinct, supplied those who wished them
with the spores of the animals for their
propagation. There are now many sponge
beds, or farms. along the coast. They are
situated usually a we'll protected places
fenced in with natural Notifications and
dams The sponges are carefully watched
until reaching maturity, and are finer
than those living wild in the sea.
Three years after the sponges are
planted they are ready for harvest Then
the choicest full grown ones are pulled up
the others being left to reproduce until
of larger size It is no trouble to gather
the sponges from these farms. for the
water is clear and they can be easily
reached with pole or tongs by man in
a boat. Every year the value of a sponge
farm increases. and enormous crops are
yielded. In the gathering of the wild
sponges about 800 vessels and 1,400 fisher
men are employed in Florida.
While the Florida sponges are not
worth more than 80 cents a pound in
average value. the Turkey sponge is some
times worth as much as $50 a pound. 1t
is thought possible that some OF the best
foreign sponges from TripoH might be
transplanted to Floridan waters and form
a nucleus from which large area might
be raised. The difficulties Of transpor-
tation would be great. however, for the
sponge-although he does not look it
when you see his skeleton alone-is del
icate animal and does not stand long
journeys well. The United States Fisher
les commission, however. has been con-
sidering for some time the advisabiHty
of making the experiment
No Let Up I'm the sugar War
New York. Jan. 22-Offcials Of the in
dependent sugar refining companies re-
peat that there is nothing 70 say n 20
spect to the report that they have 0ean
In conference, with a view TO projecting
an orga nization 10 fight the American
Sugar Refining company. James p. POST,
of b H Howell. Son & Co. representing
the Mollenhauer and National companies,
characterized as "for stock jobbing puT-
poses a report that a settlement Of the
sugar war was in sight
Swift Torpedo Boat Destroyer
Portland. Ore, Jan 22-The final
builders trial trip Of the torpedo boat de-
stroyer Goldsborough was made on the
Columbia river yesterday The result was