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SPONGES. 



The sponge fauna of New South Wales is a very large one,, 

 but so far it has been very imperfectly worked out, though 

 a number of highly- valuable descriptive papers thereon have 

 been published. Sufficient is known, however, to warrant us- 

 in thinking that there is a reasonable prospect of a sponge- 

 fishery being established in our waters in the not- far-distant 

 future. We possess quite a number of species which would 

 be of value for domestic purposes, and probably amongst 

 the others are many which would be suitable for use in 

 various trades. 



The most valuable belong to the genera Euspongia and 

 Hippospongia, and allied forms. Some of the more valuable 

 species grow to a large size, and — as my own experience 

 bears out — they make, even with a very little preparation,. 

 very good bath sponges. 



There are undoubtedly very large natural supplies of these 

 sponges along our coastline, as indicated by the great numbers- 

 to be found on many of our beaches after storms. 



Before any sponge-fishery is established here, however, it 

 will first be necessary to carry out a great deal of exploratory 

 work — more particularly in connection with the location of 

 the actual beds and the areas most suitable for sponge-growth. 



Sponges are used for a multiplicity ot purposes. In addition 

 to the many well-known household uses, the coarser kinds 

 and clippings from better kinds are used for stuffing mattresses 

 and carriage cushions. Others are used for various filtering 

 purposes ; others, again, by lithographers. 



