The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-06-08
Sponge Supply Decreasing

and to the absence OF restrictions and
regulations for the conservation of
sponge beds the output of the industry
has become practically stationary and the
productiveness is decreasing every year
In fact the danger of the exhaustion Of
the sources of supply has become SO i'm
minent that the governments of several
countries where sponging Is an important
industry are making anxious inquiries as
to practical means for regulating the
nshing and for increasing the supply by
artificial cultivation.
On purchasing the sponges the dealer
exposes them on the rocks until they
are ready for the "Crawls," which are
enclosures with rocky bottoms on the
seashore, where whatever animal matter
that remains is dislodged and the sponges
are bleached. The crawls are made as
rule OF vertical posts Of local oak with
horizontal boards of Caicos pine and are
placed so that the sponges may be thor
oughly cleaned by the ebb and flow of
the tide
To hasten the cleaning process men
peat the sponges with a wooden clapper.
AFTER remaining in the crawls for sew
eraI days they are taken out and
Immediately clipped, for clipping is less
dlhcult when the sponges are wet To
prepare sponges for the market a CON-
siderable loss is suffered in the the clip
pIhF process which loss is avoided in
sponges grown on disks.
Among the methods for raising snonyes
the following in turn have been the sub
Ject OF inquiry: Growth from seed,
grating. preserving or parkage. cuttings
IL mas been found that propagation from
SEED or by grating requires too careful
and delicate manipulation for unskilled
treatment, and on this accoun, these
methods are. impracticable for CONNER
cial purposes
Preserving or parkage consists in plac-
ing small sponges in enclosures with
rocky bottoms and in conditions favor
able to their development, where they re-
main until they reach a size when they
can be cured and marketed. With park
age may be combined the raising of
sponges from the larvae OF those pre-
served. the larvae on separation being
caught on suitable collectors, for exam
pie. wattles, stones. faggots OF wood, &c,
placed in the enclosure.
But of all methods by far the most
and attractive Is propagation
from cuttings, which has to recommend
II as a practical method its simplicity and |
the certainty with which the excised |
pieces will attach and regenerate when |
placed in favorable conditions The easel
with which suitable seed sponges may
be obtained at any season, their immun-
ity from the effects of more or less rough !
handling. the facility with which they |
can be attached to suitable foreign
bodies, and the certainty with which they !
heal and grow into perfect sponges make |
this an Immediately feasible method of |
culture, provided the proper means of
attachment and methods of handling can
be provided
Several well-known series of expert
nents in sponge culture from cuttings
have been made in the past. During the
asst century the Austrian government,
induced by fear of the exhaustion of the
sponge beds in the Adriatic, supplied
'unds for experiments to determine the
of cultivating sponges from
outings as an industrial enterprise. A
station was established on the Dslma-
ian coast and the experiments under the
of Won Buccich. extend
d over period of about six years. 1867
81. The results were on the whole sue
essful.
Experiments Successful.
Under these experiments sponges OBJ
aimed in as uninjured a state as posi-
lie were placed on a board moistened
With sea water and cut with a sharp
|
are being taken to preserve a portion
4 the outer skin on the cutting. The
uttings, repanned and skewered to bam-
100 rods, each rod bearing three cuttings, |,
we're placed in an upright position be-
ween parallel boards, which, weighted
nth stones, were sunk to the bottom of
he sea-
The most favorable places for the cui-
ure were sheltered bays with rocky bot
pms overgrown with seaweed and fresh ,
ned by gentle waves and currents The
uttings grew to three times their size ,
! a year, and In five or six years were
eady for the market. As exposure to
ne heat and sun caused death in a short !
me cuttings were made in cool weather ,
s rapidly as possible after the parent :
PONCE had been taken from the water ,
The value of sponge fisheries in the i.
rincipsl centers CT supply has been est =
lated at A,s66,5oo. those of the Mediter-
anean accounting for more than half
lat amount. Since the middle of the last : .
entury. when nearly all the sponges , i,
sed in the United States were brought
-om the Mediterranean. the sponges ]
ave furnished an important industry In =,
lorida waters. During the period of !
We years ended 1905 the average annual :
xport Of sponges froms the Bahamas :
to more than s4S6, $50. the slip
ents In 1910 being sSS5,315 invalue.