The Elbert County tribune., 1911-09-01

ization
Sponge life does not thrive in fresh water
VI tue 1000 OF the sponges practically nothing is
known That it is taken in through the canal
ys.em anu that 1t must be in a finely divided
state is practically certain but of what II consists
Is not known. They appear to have but few
natural enemies. The so-called 'rootsp of
Aponges perform no other purpose than that Of
anchorage The rate of growth of the sponge
under natural undisturbed conditions "a also a
matter of uncertainty, but 1t is estimated that
the average 6inch sponge is probably only four
years old.
The industry in the Americas is a most i'm
portant one. The fisheries as at present devel
opeo are almost entirely restricted to the Carib
bean Sea and the Gulf OF Mexico with its con.
uguous waters AS early 1922 the inhabitants
OF Key West, Florida, learned, from specimens
thrown up on the beaches of the presence of
several species of useful sponges. For some time
they were in limited domestic use among the In.
habitants, but not until 1849 was cargo sent
to New York Up to this time the entire sponge
supply OF. the United States was derived from the
Mediterranean. though of later years few
sponges come from the Bahamas. While sponge
fishing in the Americas is rather a modern In
dustry. 1t produces more than two-thrds of the
worlds supply in weight: but the fisheries of the
Mediterranean now produce about onehalf OF the
worlds supply. in value. An idea of the number
of sponges produced by the fisheries of the Amer.
icas perhaps best be grasped If It is realized
that last years crop Of dry sponges weighed
100000 pounds: and each pound is capable
of absorbing IA pints of water, is will be seen
that the total crop of the Americas could absorb
100000 gallons. Nor should the annual valua-
tion of this product be lost sight of. During the
last year there were produced in the Americas
sponges valued at $1500.OO0. The two places
where sponge fishing is best studied in tae Amer
icas are at Tarpon Springs, Florida. and at Bata-
bano on the southern coast of Cuba.
On the Florida coast there two well-defned
sponge regions. The Key grounds on the east
consisting of chain of keys starting from the
mainland near Miami and extending in the shape
of horn far into the Gulf of Mexico; and the
Bay grounds on the west, also extending into the
Gulf of Mexico. The Bay grounds which for
merly held secondary position commercially.
now yield practically the entire production of
Flcrida sponges and are by far the most prolific
in the Americas. The Atlantic side of these re-
gions is not adapted to the propagation of this
animal because of the depth and low tempera
ture of the waters and the frequent disturbances
of hurricanes These valuable sponge grounds
have been overhshed In and out of season to
such extent that congress found It necessary
10 enact stringent law for the protection and
conservation of this industry. This law prohibits
divers from working between the 1st of May and
the LIST OF October In waters less than so feet
deep. and vessels of the revenue cutter service
patrol the Florida waters today to see that this
law is enforced While the sponging areas Of
Batabano. Cuba, and the Tarpon Springs. Flor
ida are fguratively within stones throw OF
each other yet the methods of gathering in this
interesting animal at these points are entirely
different.
In Florida the old method of gathering the
sponge was to wade into the shallow waters and
pull up the growth by hand Later the sponge
hook introduced. This two-tined short
hook attached to pole of moderate length: a
third tine added to this implement after
while. With the Introduction of the sponge hook
deeper water was explored. The fisherman stand
ing in his boat closely scanned the bottom OF the
water for sponges. tearing them loose with the