326 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



the knee-shields to prevent the knees from becom- 

 ing cut; moreover they were used instead of a cup 

 for drinking while on marches. This explains why the 

 Roman soldier gave a sponge soaked in vinegar to 

 Christ during the crucifixion. 



The Industry 



As indicated above, sponge fishing was first prac- 

 tised in the Mediterranean, where it originated in the 

 eastern part of the sea and was followed by the 

 Greeks in the ^gean. The field of operations was 

 gradually extended to the African coast and the 

 central Mediterranean. A race of daring and hardy 

 divers has been developed which has earned its live- 

 lihood in the sponge fishery for more than twenty 

 centuries. Curiously these sponge fishers continue 

 their work in the same districts wher^ their ancestors 

 fished in ancient times. Symi, the principal market of 

 to-day, was a sponge market in the days of Glaucus. 

 This is probably the only industry that has been 

 carried on continuously in one location by one people 

 throughout ancient, medieval, and modern times. 



Until 1841 the entire world's sponge supply came 

 from the Mediterranean. In that year a French 

 sponge merchant who had been shipwrecked in the 

 Bahamas in the vicinity of Nassau was attracted by 

 the quality of the sponges found in these islands, 

 and shipped a trial lot to Paris. From this small 

 beginning the production of sponges in the Bahamas 

 has steadily grown until now more than a million 

 pounds are exported annually. Large quantities of 

 grass, wool, velvet, reef, hardhead, yellow, and glove 



