192 REPORT ON THE SPONGE FISHERY OF FLORIDA 



Each piece should have as large an area as possible of intact outer skin. 

 Various methods of planting the cuttings were tried. The pieces, 

 especially those with only one cut surface, very soon attach themselves 

 to a suitable base either of stone or wood, if brought into close contact 

 with it. They must, however, in general be fastened in some way to 

 prevent them from being moved about by waves and currents. 

 Amongst other methods tried by Buccich was that of fixing the 

 pieces by means of wooden pegs upon flagstones, in which holes were 

 bored. But in this case the mud and sand on the bottom, and possibly 

 also the excess of light, proved injurious. The apparatus finally 

 adopted consisted of two boards, about 25 inches long and 16 inches 

 broad, kept in a parallel position one above the other by two props 

 placed at a distance apart of about 4h inches, and having their 

 opposite ends fixed to the boards. Between the props stones could be 

 put as ballast. Twenty-four holes, at distances of 4f inches from 

 each other, were bored in each board, into which the two ends of as 

 many bamboo rods could be fastened, thus forming a kind of vertical 

 grating. Before, however, the bamboo rods were placed in position, the 

 pieces of sponge were fixed to them in the following way : Three holes 

 were made in each rod, at equal distances apart, and each piece of 

 sponge was perforated with a hole sufficiently large for it to be able to 

 slide on the rod. Three pieces of sponge were put on each rod, and 

 supported on wooden pegs placed through the holes in the latter. In 

 order to perforate the sponge-cuttings without injuring them, a trepan 

 about a quarter of an inch wide, kept in rapid motion by a fly-wheel, 

 was used. When the pieces of sponge had been fixed on the rods as 

 described, and the rods placed in position in the frame, the whole was 

 sunk to the bottom and allowed to remain. All wood used in the 

 apparatus was well tarred, in order to prevent the destructive action of 

 boring molluscs, and for this purpose it would be advisable, in any 

 future experiments, to construct the apparatus of iron. It was found 

 that if due care had been taken, 90 per cent, of the cuttings developed 

 successfully, and Buccich states that they were found to grow two or 

 three times their original size during the first year. He was of opinion 

 that although some pieces will grow to a considerable size in five years, 

 it would re<iuire seven years to raise completely matured sponges fit 

 for the market. 



Experiments in Florida. — It has been maintained, however, that 

 for Florida sponges the rate of growth is considerably quicker than 

 that indicated by these experiments, and the only account yet given 

 of any attempt there made to grow sponges from cuttings appears to 

 confirm this view. This is given by Kathbun,* as follows — 



* Loc. cit. p. 832. 



