Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-10-19

our sponges are the grass and gloce
which can be bought for as low as five
cents pound.
Diving Is not necessary in Florida
waters, hf water Is so shallow that
snonges can be brought UP by
three-pr0lseG nJDhB fastened to the
ends Of wooden poles forty or fifty feet
long which are manipulated from the
sides OF small row boats The fishermen
have fleet OF small schooners with
commodious decks ana holds for carry
ing the hnuls ashore.
Each schooner Is manned by crew
81 ten or more men, including q cook,
nd carries one or two small boats
The fishing beds are miles from any
habtation aud the fleet Is often away
from port for eight or nine weeks at
stretch; thus the fishermen must be
provided with food and place on
BOARD IN which TO sieep
Al sunrise every morning the dlnghys
are lowered from the decks and are
each manned by two men, known as The
"skuler' and hooker" They take
their dinner with them and remain out
until sundown. A sponge glass made
Of tin. In the chape Of q cone. about
three feet long. with round or square
piece Of glass az the bottom or wide
end Is necessary 70 enable the sponger
to see the bottom clearly. This instru-
ment Is fastened 20 the shoulders Of the
hooker" whose head Is pressed close
against It, and the glass end Is dipped
deep into the water over the bow Of the
boat, the hooker resting on his knees,
and steadying the instrument with his
left hand while he manipulates his hook
with HIS right. This marine telescope
In frequently made from an ordinary
water bucket or wooden box fitted with
fiat pane glass bottom. Sponges may
be seen with comparative plainness at
a depth OF forty feet through one Of
these home made glasses. In rough
weather oil has frequently to be sprink-
led over the surface OF the water,
very small quantity being sufficient
Sharks oil is generally used, those fish,
es being numerous along the coast.
As soon as dlngy has been filled
with sponges the sculler signals to the
sh0oner by placing an oar upright, and
the vessel sails alongside the dinghy,
and the sponges are placed on the
schooner's deck until the Shiny matter.
which Is the vital substance, or sap, Of
the sponge, has drained off into the sea
after which they are consigned TO the
hold.
When the schooner returns to her
dock she is quickly unloaded of her
cargo OF dead sponges. which are then
taken to pens made Of stakes driven in
shallow water situate in isolated
places along the shore. They are left
In the pens to soak for one week. and
are taken out squeezed. and beaten
with clubs, and thoroughly washed to
remove all the slime and foreign mat
ter In their bodies. The sponges are
then strung In large punches to pieces
Of rope about six feet long and removed
TO the packing houses to be bleached
in a solution OF lime and salt water and
afterwards thoroughly dried. II too
much lime is used In the bleaching pro-
cess the sponges become sa frall as to
be practically useless.
The sponge business Is not without
II tricks upon purchasers and before
being placed on the market the packers
often add lime to the punches. so that
they win tin the scales pound or two
more than their real weight-New York
Sun.