750 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



by thorough treading under the bare feet of the crew, after which they are strung 

 and hung over the side of the boat to macerate, and are then thoroughly washed 

 on deck in tubs of sea water. Unless these processes are thoroughly performed, 

 some fleshy matter or skin is left adhering to the fibrous skeleton, which, after 

 drying, is very difficult to remove. Such improperly cleaned sponges are said to 

 be "gurried." 



After being cleaned the sponges are strung on rope yarns 6 feet long, the ends 

 of which are tied together to form wreaths, called "bunches." The sponges are 

 partially dried and carried to the primary markets, where they are sold in lots 

 to the dealers at auction. In the hands of dealers the sponges are trimmed with 

 sheep shears to remove the irregularities, torn parts, and gross foreign bodies, 

 such as shells, pieces of coral, etc. They are then sorted into sizes, designated by 

 the number of pieces required to make a pound; these are usually "ones," "twos," 

 "twos to threes," "threes to fours," "fours to sixes," "sixes to eights," "eights to 

 tens," "tens to twelves," "twelves to sixteens," and "sixteens to twenties." 



In Florida, Cuba, and the Bahama Islands the different kinds and sizes of sponges 

 are packed separately in quadrangular bales, covered with burlap and strongly 

 roped while under compression in a screw press. The bales vary in size accord- 

 ing to the immediate demands of the ti'ade. In the Mediterranean sponges are 

 packed under foot pressure in boxes or in cylindrical bales weighing about 40 to 

 75 pounds. 



Sponges sold by weight are frequently artificially "loaded" by the wilful intro- 

 duction of foreign matter, sand or marble dust being usually employed for the 

 purpose in the Mediterranean. No "loading" is permitted by the Tarpon Springs 

 Sponge Exchange. 



The accepted fair-trade practice in the United States for selling pressed sponges 

 in bales is to allow 3 per cent of gross weight for tare (rope and burlap). The 

 custom dates back to the beginning of the industry when prices were low and 

 bales weighed 150 pounds or more. At present, when bales are often smaller, it 

 acts as a reasonable price differential in favor of the larger purchases. 



Most of the sponges from the western Atlantic are sold in their natural color; 

 but some are bleached, as is a large part of the Mediterranean product. The 

 method usually employed is as follows: Soak the sponges for about 10 minutes 

 in 5 per cent hydrochloric or sulfuric acid; then thoroughly wash in water and 

 place in 5 per cent potassium permanganate solution until they have assumed 

 a very dark brown, almost black, color; thoroughly wash again in fresh water and 

 place, until almost decolorized, in a 10 per cent solution of oxalic acid; after an- 

 other very thorough washing place in a 10 per cent solution of sodium carbonate 

 (washing soda) until they assume a bright yellow color. A very thorough wash- 

 ing completes the process. The fiber of all chemically bleached sponges is more or 

 less injured by the treatment, and though softer they are inferior to the natural 

 sponges in durability and resiliency and soon become soggy in use. 



REFERENCES 

 Abderhalden, E., and Strauss, E., "The Monoamino Acids of the Keratin of Testudo 



graeca," Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 4S, 535-536 (1906). 

 Galtsoff, P. S., "Wasting Disease Causing Mortality of Sponges in the West Indies and 



Gulf of Mexico," Proc. 8th Am. Scientific Congress 3, 411-421 (1940). 



