580 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
the same as for ordinary sponging—the weather must be moderate and the 
water clear. In deep water, beyond the reach of the hooks, it will be necessary 
to employ divers to gather the sponges, which will materially increase the 
capital required and the expense of operation. As has been explained pre- 
viously, the operations of harvesting and replanting can be economically com- 
bined. 
TRANSPORTATION AND ACCLIMATIZATION. 
The transportation of seed sponges by water has been dealt with in another 
connection, but experiments indicate that they can also be carried considerable 
distances overland if proper precautions be observed. With the air temperature 
ranging between 70° and 80°, specimens have been easily kept without injury 
by merely packing them in wet seaweed in tubs. Others have been shipped by 
express, closely packed with wet eel grass and gulf weed (sargassum) in orange 
crates, over distances requiring three days between the time of removal from 
the water and the time of replanting. Although carried in heated express cars 
they were absolutely uninjured and started growth immediately after trans- 
planting. Of another lot shipped on a six days’ journey under the same condi- 
tions nearly all were killed. 
If kept cool, the sponges will live much longer, and there is reason to believe 
that if carried in moist packing in refrigerator cars there would be little doubt of 
their surviving a trip extending over one week. Thus, with proper arrangements 
Florida sponges could be carried alive to the California coast. With similar 
arrangements and with the facilities which would be afforded for giving the 
sponges occasional refreshing baths in sea water it is believed that little diffi- 
culty would be experienced in carrying specimens from the Mediterranean to 
Florida. ‘The water used in moistening the sponges and the packing material 
must be of full oceanic salinity, an experiment having shown a mortality of 
50 per cent among sponges sent on a three-day journey when a portion of the 
packing material was inadvertently moistened with nearly fresh water from 
Anclote River. 
But while there may be little difficulty in transporting sponges to distant 
places and acclimating them in suitable waters, there is grave doubt if they will 
retain the characteristics which they exhibit in their original habitats. Sponges 
from the vicinity of Anclote Key transplanted to Biscayne Bay undoubtedly 
gradually developed some of the characters of indigenous specimens, but unfor- 
tunately the experiment to determine this point conclusively was seriously 
interfered with by a hurricane which intermingled the various lots. All of 
the transplanted specimens which could be definitely identified, about 15 in 
number, had completely lost their original characteristics at the end of two 
