SPONGE 



5507 



SPOONBILL 



substance, and when thoroughly clean are 

 strung and hung up to dry, after which they 

 are ready for the marke't. Sometimes they are 

 bleached to improve their color, but this makes 

 them less durable. 



The finest, softest sponges come from the 

 Mediterranean, particularly from the neighbor- 

 hood of Turkey; the next best grade is the 

 Red Sea product. These foreign sponges are 

 now scarce and command high prices. Nearly 

 all the sponges used in the United States come 

 from the fisheries of Florida and the Bahama 

 Islands. The best grade of Florida sponges, 

 called sheep's wool, bring from two to five dol- 

 lars a pound; the ordinary yellow sponge, 

 from fifty to sixty cents a pound; the very 

 coarse grass sponge, from fifteen to twenty-five 

 cents. The Florida fisheries average about 

 623,000 pounds yearly, valued at approximately 

 $545,000. Although the Mediterranean fisheries 

 produce a far smaller quantity than this, the 

 value of their output is considerably greater on 

 account of its superior quality. The weather 

 has much to do with the size of the yield. 



In recent years scientists have been experi- 

 menting with artificial production, since many 

 of the richest sponge beds are now all but ex- 

 hausted. The most promising method appears 

 to be that of cutting up those sponges which 

 are too small or irregular to be salable, and 

 stimulating growth from these pieces, which are 

 called plants. The United States government 

 has passed special legislation to protect the 

 Florida sponge fisheries from improper fishing 

 methods. 



During the War of the Nations there was a 

 marked stimulation of the Florida sponge in- 

 dustry on the Gulf coast. This was largely the 

 result of the difficulty of obtaining sponges 

 from the Mediterranean beds. Tarpon Springs 

 became the headquarters of activity, and the 

 industry was developed chiefly by Greeks, who 

 made use of diving apparatus instead of using 

 the ordinary forked pole. These fearless divers 

 are accustomed to plunging into water over 100 

 feet deep. Such methods enable the workers 

 to obtain the very choicest specimens. 



Fresh-Water Sponge. Although the sponge 

 is properly a marine animal, a certain branch of 

 the family (called spongilld) has adapted itself 

 to fresh water. It is to be found in ponds, 

 rivers and lakes in nearly all parts of the world, 

 particularly where the water is quiet. One 

 must look very closely to find these sponges, 

 for they are only from half an inch to an inch 

 long. They have the same porous, cellular 



bodies and supporting skeletons as their sea- 

 born relatives, and the same habit of clinging 

 to stones, leaves and other objects. However, 

 they cannot boast the same vivid coloring or 

 curious forms; they are green or grayish, and 

 grow either in flat masses like tiny mats, or 

 in spots where the water is very still as minia- 

 ture bushes. 



The principal difference between the marine 

 and the fresh-water sponge is that in the latter 

 there is provision for carrying the eggs over 

 through the cold weather. Toward the end of 

 the year there form within the grown sponge 

 what are called winter buds minute cells or 

 eggs encased in a thick membrane, which fall 

 to the bottom. They remain dormant until 

 spring, and then multiply very rapidly through 

 the process of cell division. 



These fresh-water sponges are within every 

 one's reach, and it is interesting to collect speci- 

 mens in late summer, when they are fully de- 

 veloped, and preserve them in diluted alcohol. 

 By studying them through even an ordinary 

 microscope one can learn a great deal about 

 this form of the many-celled animals. L.M.B. 



Consult Moore's Reports on Sponge Culture; 

 Cobb's The Sponge Fisheries. 



SPONTANEOUS, spon to,' ne us, COMBUS'- 

 TION. See COMBUSTION, subhead Spontaneous 

 Combustion, 



SPONTANEOUS GENERA 'TION, or 



ABIOGENESIS, ab i o jen' e sis. The theory 

 that certain lower forms of life have sprung 

 from substances without life is no longer held 

 by scientists. As late as the seventeenth cen- 

 tury, however, it was believed that life could 

 originate from dead matter without the instru- 

 mentality of protoplasm. In no other way, for 

 instance, could the presence of maggots on de- 

 caying -meat be explained, or the formation of 

 vegetable molds. With the perfection of the 

 microscope and the development of the study 

 of bacteria scientists have come to see that 

 there is no life without antecedent life. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following- articles in these volumes: 

 Bacteria and Mold 



Bacteriology Protoplasm 



Fermentation 



SPOON 'BILL, a wading bird, similar to the 

 ibis, found in many parts of the globe, distin- 

 guished by its odd, spoon-shaped bill, which it 

 swings from side to side in the water in search 

 of shellfish, marine insects and small crabs. 

 The most beautiful species is the roseate spoon- 

 bill, native to the warmer regions of the Ameri- 



