40 



THE MUSEUM. 



down. Having determined what 

 sponges to take, he reaches down with 

 the long-handled hook and detaches 

 them from the rock or coral to which 

 they cling. 



When first taken from the water the 

 live sponge looks very little like the 

 beautiful many celled soft article one 

 uses. It is a flabby gelatinous mass, 

 not very nice to look at, and when ex- 

 posed to the sun for a short time emits 

 an odor exceedingly offensive. When 

 the sponge is sufficiently dead and 

 dried up, it is placed in water and left 

 to soak and be washed out. 



After a day or two it is beaten with 

 a stick to remove all remaining rem- 

 nants of decayed matter; then, when 

 quite clean, it is packed away and 

 ready for the market. The price at 

 the point of supply varies from $1.20 

 to $1.60 per pound, although during 

 some recent years as much as $2 per 

 pound has been paid. In 1895 the 

 yield of all kinds of sponges in the 

 Florida sponge fields was 280,372 

 pounds, having a first value of $344,- 

 065. Practically the entire catch of 

 the Florida sponges is sold locally to 

 regular dealers at Key West. The 

 catch is sold to the highest bidder. No 

 opportunity is afforded the buyers to 

 weigh the sponges, and the calculation 

 of the quantity of each species and 

 grade of sponge and the probable 

 value of the cargo has to be made 

 rapidly from a glance at each bunch. 



The Mediterranean sponge differs 

 from and is superior to those of Florida 

 and the Bahamas, and it has been in 

 contemplation to import living sponges 

 from the Levant to Florida waters for 

 propagation. Mutilation injures a 

 living sponge but little. Divided with 

 a sharp knife, even the smallest frag- 

 ments retain their life, and under fa- 

 vorable conditions they will live and 

 grow. Considering the many uses to 

 which the sponge is put, and the fact 

 that most of the Florida fields are 

 overfished, there appears to be neer" 

 for legislative action to protect l'..^ 

 species. 



A Monthly Magazine devoted to Ornithology, 



Oology, MoUusca, Echinodermata, 



Mineralogy and Allied 



Sciences. 



Walter F. Webb, Editor and Manager 

 Albion, N. Y. 



Correspondence and items of interest on above top- 

 ics, as well as notes on the various Museums of the 

 World— A-iews from same, discoveries relative to the 

 handling and keeping of Natural History material, 

 descriptive habits of various species, are solicited 

 from all. 



Make articles as brief as possible and as free from 

 technical terms as the subjects will allow. All letters 

 will be promptly answered. 



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Notes Upon Bird Life in Yates Co.. 

 N. Y.,Past and Present. 



C. F. Stone. 



Since the year 1S94 this section of 

 country has not had the usual rainfall 

 nor enough snow to maintain our in- 

 land lakes at their noimal levels, con- 

 sequently each succeeding year they 

 have reached lower levels until in 

 1895-6 when Lake Keuka at least 

 reached a lower level than had been 

 recorded before in about twenty years. 

 As a result of this subsidance of the 

 water the swamps have become drain- 

 ed so that fields of corn now wave 

 their golden tassels and various kinds 

 of garden truck flourishes, where in 

 times gpne by I have spent many 

 happy hours shoving a boat through 

 the dense growth of cattails or wading 

 in the muck and water waist deep in 

 my oological searches. 



The Pied-bill Grebes arrl Florida 

 Gallinules used to be comni> u breed- 

 ers while- ''ley nc .v occur only as mi- 

 grants. \ irginia and Sora Rails were 



