THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



Vienna for from 1 to 10 each, being obtained at depths 

 varying from ten to thirty-five fathoms. To aid in the descent, 

 the diver makes use of a triangular stone, with a hole in one 

 corner, through which a rope is spliced. On reaching the 

 deep sea-gardens, where the rock ledges and pinnacles are 

 clothed with marine growths, the diver, retaining a hold on his 

 rope, dextrously breaks away the holdfasts of the sponges, 

 places them, with their foundations, under his arm, until a suffi- 

 cient load has been gleaned, when a pull on the rope signals to 



thick, glairy, gelatinous matter, before spoken of. To remove 

 this, and thus prevent the sponge from becoming putrid, large 

 pits are dug in the sand. In these the sponges are placed witli 

 water, when a number of men and boys thoroughly tread them 

 with their feet, until the mass is rendered free from impurities. 

 The growth of commercial sponge is extremely rapid, two years 

 being sufficient to restore well-fished sponge grounds to a fit 

 condition for a fresh sea-harvest. It has been ascertained by 

 chemists that sponges are particularly rich in nitrogen, being 



haul up, and he ascends to the surface with his ocean treasures, equal in that element to t.he best samples of guano. Iodine and 



' In shallow water, where inferior sponges are found, long-handled 

 prong-shaped hooks are used for detaching them from their 

 places of attachment. A number are torn and injured by the 

 points of the instrument, and therefore command but an inferior 

 price, but still swell the grand total of the harvest. It has 

 been computed that the united Greek and Turkish sponge 

 markets make an annual return of from ^90,000 to .100,000. 

 A great number of rough and coarse sponges are taken near 

 the Bahama Islands, in the Gulf of Florida. The coasts of 

 many or the West Indian islands also furnish a fair quota of 

 sponge growth; about 215,000 pounds worth, roughly, about 

 ;81 7,000 are sent annually to this country. 



Sponges, when first taken from the sea, are filled with the 



bromine, elements extensively used by pharmaceutical chemists 

 and photographers, exist in considerable quantities in even the 

 most neglected members of the sponge family, so that there is 

 no reason why the masses of sea-drift cast by every high tide 

 and gale on our coast-line should not be turned to profitable 

 account. Nature, in her wisdom, builds up no imperfect or in- 

 complete structure. Hers is a chemistry which knows no error; 

 and whether we examine the flint-covered wheat straw, the 

 pearl-lined shell, the stores of lime laid up in the great coral 

 reefs, the beetle's wing, or the exquisite tints found on the 

 feathers of birds, no element will be found wanting to render 

 perfect that which man, in all his wisdom, would fail to imitate 

 successfully. 



