The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1911-08-31


90 "ponee me does not thrive in fresh water
1 e ioou VI tne sponges practically nothing is
known That it is taken in through Tho conoI
system and that it must he in n fnolv dividoa
Slte Is practically certain but of what if consists
iS' noI known They appear to have but few
hatural enemies The so-calIed roots" of
SponeeS perform no other purpose than that of
ancnorage The rate of growth of the sponge
unuei natural undisturbed conditions, is also a
matter OF uncertainty, but it Is estimated that
years old ' -oui
Inc industry in the Americas is a most i'm.
~poptant one The fisheries as at present deyel
oped are almost entirely restricted To the Garth
oean 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 on the beaches, of the presence of
several species Of useful sponges. For some time
they were in limited domestic use among the in.
habltants, but not until 1S49 was a cargo sent
10 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
nshlng in the Americas is rather modern in
dustfy, 1t produces more than two-thirds of the
worlds supply in weight; but the fisheries of the
Mediterranean now produce about one-half of the
Worlds supply in value. An idea of the number
OF sponges produced by the fisheries of the Amer.
icas can 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 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 $1500,000. The two places
where sponge fishing is best studied in the Amer
icas are at Tarpon Springs, Florida and at Bata-
oano, on the southern coast of Cuba.
On the Florida coast there are two welldefned
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
Jnerly 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 overfshed in and out of season to
such an extent that congress found 1t 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
Ratabano, Cuba and the Tarpon Springs Flor
ida, are iguratively 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 the
sponge was to wade into the shallow waters and
pull UP the growth by hand. Later the sponge
hook was introduced This was q two-tined short
nook attached to a 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 sporges, tearing them loose with the