TIIE GLOVE SPONGE. 847 



Sponges are very numerous, quite permanent in their positions, and irregularly scattered over flie 

 sides of the mass, often remaining open even in dried specimens. The cloaca! canals are few in 

 number, but exceedingly large, and their apertures are irregularly scattered fibout, but are 

 almost always on the upper side of the colony. When living, the outer skin is of a dark brown, 

 very dark purple, or a black color. The external layer is usually more or less filled with whatever 

 sediment may be prevalent in the water, and, especially in the West Indies, with the siliceous 

 spicules of other Sponges. . 



Only four species or six so-called subspecies of commercial Sponges, are recognized from the 

 Florida waters, and these give rise to the five grades, known to the trade, in the order of their 

 importance, beginning with the finest, as Sheepswool, Velvet, Grass, and Glove Sponges. These 

 same grades and subspecies, with one exception, also occur among the Bahama Islands, the 

 sponge fauna of Florida and the Bahamas being more or less identical, but the corresponding 

 grades of these two regions are generally finest in the Florida waters, the Florida commercial 

 Sponges ranking much higher than the Bahama, and commanding higher prices. Commercially, 

 Bahama has two or three times as many grades of Sponges as Florida but these commercial 

 grades are not of specific or even subspecific importance. They result from a division according 

 to quality for the convenience of the trade. Notwithstanding the many Bahama grades, the 

 ' best of the Bahama Sheepswool Sponges are inferior to the best Florida Sheepswool. 



The following descriptions of the several Florida and Bahama commercial Sponges are taken 

 from Professor Hyatt's memoir, "Revision of the North American Poriferse," with notes on the 

 corresponding Mediterranean species: 



THE GLOVE SPONGE SPONGIA OFFICINALIS, Linn., subspecies TUBULIFERA. 



''This subspecies, as compared with other American subspecies, has a skeleton composed of 

 remarkably fine fibers, which bleach out to a whitish brown color. The surface is covered with 

 fine tufts of primary fibers, which are, however, very pliable. The surface is generally quite free 

 from cushions and ridges, and the channels between these when they do occur are neither very 

 deep nor long. The result of these characteristics is a form with a smoother surface and a denser 

 looking skeleton than usual, pierced on the sides by numerous small apertures, very regularly 

 distributed, and at the top by one or more large cloacal oscules. The form is generally dome-like, 

 and is never, so far as I know, cup-shaped, though it may become exceedingly irregular, fistular, 

 or even dendritic. The older specimens show a decided tendency to increase by the prolongation 

 of the parts immediately around the apertures. Thus the main body of the Sponge becomes 

 projected into numerous smaller conical or head-shaped masses like the young of variety rotunda, 

 and crested masses like those of variety ilixcifurniix. At an advanced age the fiber becomes very 

 brittle and unfit for domestic purposes." 



This subspecies generally occurs abundantly upon hard bottom. While living its color is 

 black; the largest specimen seen by Dr. Edward rainier, who collected many specimens for 

 Professor Hyatt, measured about eight inches in height by about twenty inches in circumference. 

 It lives on the coast of Southern Florida (Key West), and among the Bahama Islands (Nassau), 

 upon hard bottoms or reel's, in about six feet of water. Ten varieties are enumerated, all of 

 which inhabit American tropical seas. They are as follows: pcrtusa, mollis, pmrii, illxi-ifunni.-; 

 rotituilit, fi/icrtaj corlosifoi-niix, i! 11/1/1:1', <:>(>/ irti, and xulidit. 



The Glove Sponge ranks as the poorest of all the Florida commercial grades, and yet belonging 

 to the same species, under the name subspecies mediterranea, are the Levant Toilet Sponges, the 

 finest of all Sponges, and the fine-textured Turkey Cup Sponges. The different grades of the 



