44 FISHERIES OF THE COASTAL WATERS OF FLORIDA. 



as there is usually great demand for the sponges, and in order to secure 

 them the aim is to bid as high as practicable. It is possible to make 

 or lose hundreds of dollars on a single cargo. The bids of well-informed 

 buyers often vary greatly on the same lot of sponges. As an example of 

 this, reference may be made to a cargo sold in January, 1896. This 

 consisted of 402 bunches of liock Island sheepswool sponges of inferior 

 quality and small size, and the bids of six buyers were 8411, $427, 8469, 

 $512, $540, and $857. The next lot sold on the same day contained 206 

 bunches of sponges of good size and quality from the same ground; the 

 highest bid on this was $277. The owner and crew of the vessel of 

 which these sponges were the cargo were naturally dissatisfied with 

 this bid and refused to sell for less than $500. 



From many points of view this anomalous method is so unsatisfactory 

 to both seller and buyer that it is strange it has not long since been 

 discarded. The wide fluctuations in prices make the business uncer- 

 tain, and, in the language of the dealers, the present buying of sponges 

 is little different from gambling or a lottery. 



In 1895, the number of regular dealers or buyers at Key West was nine. 

 These employed 65 laborers and teamsters in clipping, packing, and 

 hauling sponges. The buildings occupied by the dealers were valued 

 with their fixtures at $16,825, and the land on which they rested had 

 an estimated value of $42,300. The teams and drays more or less 

 regularly required by the business had a value of $2,150. The amount 

 of cash capital required to conduct the trade was $135,000. The total 

 investment in this branch was therefore $196,275. The quantity of 

 sponges bought by dealers corresponds very closely with the quantity 

 caught by the fleet. The quantity and cost of the sponges purchased 

 in 1895 amounted to 267,810 pounds and $321,020, the different species 

 being represented to the following extent: 



Species. Pounds. 



Cost. 



Sheepswool 195, 569 $297, 895 



Yellow 28, 084 



Grass 20,205 



Velvet 7.825 



11,473 

 5,150 

 2,990 



Others 16,127 3,512 



Total 267,810 321,020 



The loss in weight occasioned by the cleaning and trimming of 

 sponges is generally reported as about 8 per cent, considering all kinds 

 of sponges. Some lots will lose only 3 per cent, but such a low figure 

 is rarely attained. This waste is no unimportant item, since in 1895 

 it amounted to about 20,000 pounds, worth, at $1.20 per pound, $24,000. 

 A part of this loss, however, is recovered. Some of the dealers make 

 no account of the clippings, but the softer parts of the sheepswool 

 clippings are now being generally saved and utilized for various pur- 

 poses, the wholesale value being about 5 cents a pound. 



