The times., 1901-03-24

to bring up his sponges.
When the small boat has arrived over
the spot selected one of the two men
takes the oars to steady and guide it. The
other takes the water glass and pole. Peer
ing over the side through the water glass,
ne finds the location of the sponge he
wishes to capture, and, skiilfully ma
nipulating the long prong-ended pole,
tears its quarry from its coral bed, and
brings it to the surface. The operation
is a delicate one. and requires certain
knack for a sponge is a difficult thing 10
keep on the hook. Many are lost, and
--ecome what are called rollers, that is TO
say. being without anything TO hold
them. roll over the bottom of the ocean,
with the current and become rounded and
smooth. The sponge, covered with its
slimy skin, is loaded upor the deck of
the schooner. and allowed to remain there
under the hot sun until il dies Decay
sets in. and, as can readily be imagined
living on sponge boat, o. within nose
shot of the sponge feet is by no means
pleasant.
The boats make about five or six trips
q year to the sponge uelds, occupying
about two months to a trip. The work
IS not attended with much danger, as the
land is usually within sight ana ports
of safety within reach in case OF a gale.
The hurricane trip. in September ana
October. is considered the most perilous,
rs the highest gales are TO be expected
al that time. The loss of life, however,
is by no means as great as that on the
Newfoundland Banks.
The two months work at the sponge
grounds is usually sufficient to make
quite heavy load for the small Schoon-
erS, and they sail for home quite low IN
the water. The decay which has taken
places in the SponCes while on the ship
deck and in the ship hold, is not Sufti-
cient. The entire animal matter must
be rotted out. TO accomplish this the
Sponges are put in large enclosures called
kralls. or crawls, located at the edge OF
the water, where high tide Will iili and
low tide drain them. These crawls are
made of brush. set up in the sand to form
a stockade, allowing the water TO run IN
and out, but keeping the sponges impr1s-
oned. The constant wetting and drying,
which the Sponges undergo, quickly zoos
ems the animal matter from the skeleton,
and the flowing water washes II away.
After week the sponge is ready for the
market, and it is loaded into boat and
taken to Key West. or Anclote. which
are the main markets for the Southern
and Northern fields, respectively. At
these places the buyers congregate, ard
auctions are held every day. The sponge
fisherman piles his catch upon the wharf,
and the buyers look it over, making Sc
cret bids, which are often remarkable In
their variation, ranging sometimes from
80 cents TO s. on the same pile.
The buyers. who are not very numer-
Gus, probably not more than a dozen at
each market. represent firms from all
over the world. They have their ware
houses at the market, and store away
thousands of dollars worth of sponges
each year.
Before being stored away the sponges
have to undergo a thorough cleaning.
They are put into water and beaten, and
washed and scrubbed until the last YES
tige of animal matter has disappeared.
The parts containing any coral material
Or dirt is cut away, and the whole sponge
IS clipped until 1t takes a regular smooth
shape. When the market demands the
spOnges are shipped north TO the whole
sale druggists. They still retain their
natural color, which is a dirty dark
brown. 1t is in the hands of the drug
zists that they obtain the delicate yellow,
through a bleaching process to which
hey are submitted.
The virtues of a sponge are softness
and durability. As compared with the
spOnSeS found in the Indian Ocean, or
he Mediterranean. the Florida product is
somewhat inferior in both these charac
eristics. II is. however, fine CONNER
,iaI sponge, and hardly to be told, ex-
,ept by an expert, from its competitors
rom the Orient
VARIETIES OF THE ARTICLE.
Sponges are divided into numerous
,lasses. according to their shape and
exture. OF these, the majority fall un-
Ter the following heads: Sleeps wool
;ponges. yellow sponges. grass sponges,
.nd glove sponges. The remaining kinds
ire chiefly ornamental and OF no use In
OF all sponges found, the sleeps wool
s king, and is recognized as the stand
lrd 1t is closely knit, soft and untear-
.ble almost, and of a wonderful durabili-
Y Its apertures are small, and the text
bre is very fine. Its appearance is best
described by the name II bears for IL
ooks like more or less round ball COW
red with sleeps wool 1t grows to i'm
lenSe sizes sometimes.
There is a specimen in possession Of the
afsygsf ion
lne-half in thickness. Il IS worth, IN
he auctions, about s.. 10 per pound dry
The sponge next in quality is the yel-
OW." which in size and formation, ana
exture is much like the Sleeps wool on
V in every way inferior. 1t brings about
I % a pound in the market
The grass sponge is WHY ana narsh,
With a roundness and toughness similar
O the sheep's wool. for which reason 1t
; sometimes called the bastard-Sheep
WOOL. The glove sponge has long proJec-
ions, making II resemble glove. II is
EASILY torn, and therefore not OF mucn
use. Another sponge, of some
value is the velvet sponge, so
allied because 1t has all over its surface
title velvety projections ike the bottoms
# cats paw. For toilet purposes II Is
and often brings $lD pound.
OF course, the greatest use for Sponges
S found in the homes, and the domestic
rade is by far the largest. Yet the de-
nand for them in the arts has increased
realty and now there IS hardly bust
ess in which some spOnges are not used
Every livery stable has many, paper man |
facturers use them in glazing paper, |
,ainters use them, they are used by the |
of bottled backing, boot |
blacks use them, and they are used in |
he armies and naVies of the world for
Wabs to clean guns and cannon. They
re used by furniture polishers, and by |
thousand other works in thousand other
rades.
The total product Of the Florida sponge
isheries in 1900 was 364 800 pounds valued
L S567, ,6S5. There were 2245 men employ
d. /, ,239 Of whom We're on vessels, 6,A of
whom fished from boats near the shore.
md 132 of whom were employed on the
yharves. The property concerned in the |
PRODUCTION Of the sponges was valued at
594 .59S on the Key grounds the catch |
vas l4S $40 pounds, value at sos, ,l5S. The |
.atch on the Bay grounds was 53,3Gi |
pounds, valued at $5S,53l. There has been |
constant increase in the number OF men |
Employed and in the value Of the produc-
ion. There IS some fear, however, that |
he grounds may soon be fished out. The |
PONCE crop grows very rapidly, however,
nd fishermen who have completely clean
d place one year say they have return
d In a years time and found a crop of
ponEes amply large enough for CONNER
lal use. An experiment in sponge culti- |
alton is being carried on by Dr. II 7.
iOore Of the Fish Commission. who has |
,een planting cuttings of sponges in va
ious parts Of the fisheries These cut |
ings are attached to frames, TO keep |
hem from floating away, and il has been
ound that they increase in size very rap
dly. over 10000 cuttings have been
lanted and tne experiment seems TO |
ave proved itself a success.
If the sponge cultivation redeerns it's |
romises and If the investigation now be- |
ng made by the Fish Hawk proves the |
Xistence Of good sponges at a greater |
epth than that now fished in. the Flori- |
a fisheries may be able to supply the de |
hands of the United States. In the year |
80. however, the United States import |
d spOnges TO the extent Of 430 231 pounds, |
ApOrting, in special varieties 71651 |
ounds. The Fish Hawk is making q |
borough survey of the bOtf ON Of tho yya