The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1911-10-05

smhI moment TO civil
ization.
Sponge life does not thrive in fresh water
OF the food of the sponges practically nothing is
known. That 1t is taken in through the canal
system and that 1t must be in a finely divided
state Is practically certain but of What il consists
is not known. They appear to have but few
natural enemies. The so-called roots" OF
sponges perform no other purpose than that of
anchorage The rate of growth of the sponge
under natural, undisturbed conditions is also a
matter of uncertainty, but It is estimated that
the average 6-inch 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.
oped are almost entirely restricted to the Carib.
bean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico with its con.
uguous waters. AS early as 1922 the inhabitants
OF Key West Florida learned, from specimens
thrown up 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 1S49 was a 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 a few
sponges come from the Bahamas While sponge
fishing in the Americas is rather modern in.
dustry, 1t produces more than twothirds 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 as each pound is capable
of absorbing II plnts 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 $1500,0O0. The two places
where sponge fishing is best studied in the Amer
icas are at Tarpon Springs Florida, and at Bata
bano, on the southern coast OF Cuba
On the Florida coast there are two well-deined
sponge regions. The Key grounds the east,
consisting of chain of keys starting from the
mainland 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 a secondary position commercially,
now yield practically the entire production of
Florida 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 an extent that congress found It necessary
TO enact stringent law for the protection and
conservation OF this industry. This law prohibits
divers from working between the 1st of May and
the 1st 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 spongng areas OF
Batabano. Cuba, and the Tarpon Springs. Flor.
ida are fguratively within a 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 tse
sponge was to wade into the shallow waters and
null up the growth by hand. Later the sponge
hook was introduced This was two-tined short
nook attached to pole of moderate length; a
third tine was added to this implement after a
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