The Baraboo news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1884-1911, 1910-04-21
w est Tampa, Fla.

1t is interesting to know that there
are several products in which Florida
takes the lead, or at least holds place
in the front ranks. Some of these are
lumber, naval stores, citrus fruits,
phosphates, etc. The phosphate mines
not far from Tampa are said to be the
largest in the world and last year
Florida took the lead of all the states
In the production of naval stores.
But there is still another industry
here of marked Importance. The larg-
est sponge fisheries of the world are To-
Gated off the west coast, and Tarpon
Springs is the port to which the
sponges when cured are brought for
sale and shipment. The only other
place where sponges are now taken in
quantities to compete with the Tarpon
Springs fisheries, is in Mediterranean
sea, but they are not so large as the
former. On the latter place, viz. in
the Mediterranean sea, the sponges
have been driven to much deeper
water, making the process of securing
them more hazardous. This leaves
the Florida fisheries the largest de-
pendence at present which the world
has for it's supply of so useful a COM
modify as sponges are. The sponges
in the Tarpon Springs fisheries lie off
the west coast of Florida. The region
where they are found extends up and
down the coast for about 200 miles and
is from 20 to 80 miles wide, one edge of
it reaching close in shore, and the 9TH
er lying out in the gulf, whose waters
are here very shallow. Tarpon Springs
is, as we have said, the port to which
the sponges are brought, placed in a
sponge exchange or warehouse, and
sold to the highest bidder on certain
days of each week and whence they
are shipped to the worlds markets af-
ter being baled in the packing houses.
About TarpOn Springs.
K
Tarpon Springs is beautiful place.
It lies on the Anclote river, few
miles from st. Joseph's bay, shallow
sound made by the line of keys five or
six miles off shore that protect it. In
between these one can get out into the
gulf. The main channels are marked
by buoys. A group of keys known as
Anclote Keys lie off the mouth of the
river. On one of these is a lighthouse.
Tarpon Springs is 81 miles north OF
st. Petersburg and "a miles northwest
of Tampa. 1t is delightful place, as
winding bayou backs up from the
Anclote river and executes some
curves that only nature can make so
simply and so exquisitely and affords
on it's banks accommodations for boat
houses and docks for pleasure craft,
back of which stand the beautiful
homes of winter visitors in the favored
spot on more elevated ground, from
which there are steps leading down to
the water.
1t is certainly very beautiful, the
colors and the contrasts by day, and
the cleaning and glinting of the
waters by night. When visiting Tar
pom Springs recently as the guest of
some friends, [ witnessed the phos-
phorescence in the bayou so brilliant
that every ripple of the surface was a
furrow of fire, and even the glow made
by darting fishes beneath the surface,
shone and then died out, darting here
and there as some finny marauder was
hunting for late supper.
Every stirring of the water as with
cane or passing boat, or even lit
tie ripple, will cause it to shine with a
beautiful phosphorescent glow. The
tide rises and falls here to marked
degree, though [ do not know what
it's height is. Tarpon Springs is
named from the tarpon fish that used
to come up, it is said, to pooi ir the
bayou, where wonderful spring OF
large size issues from the bottom and
wells up in great volume to the sur
face.
How Sponges Are Taken.
There are two methods of taking
sponges. The old method was to use
rakes on long handle. With this ap-
paratus the fishers went out to the