THE BOOK ABOUT THE SEA GARDENS 



brown. Plenty of these may be found also, but 

 they are not fished for in these islands, as there is 

 no local market for them. They may be seen in 

 greatest numbers very early in the morning and 

 late in the evening. They probably bury them- 

 selves in the sand by day and come out to feed 

 at night. 



It is curious that a commodity which fetches as 

 much as five dollars a pound in any market should 

 find no patron in the Bahamas. Dried beche-de- 

 mer has often touched this figure, and in China 

 the demand is inexhaustible, while New York 

 restaurants have at times made a specialty of it. 

 It is supposed to possess aphrodisiac qualities. 

 About twenty years ago someone tried to develop 

 an industry in dried beche-de-mer at Golding Cay : 

 the attempt was unsuccessful because the people 

 did not understand the process sufficiently well, 

 and their product would not keep. 



One may mention in passing that the word 

 "cay" for island, as Golding Cay, Salt Cay, etc., 

 is a corruption from the Spanish "Los Cayos" 

 ("The Little Islands"). Lucayos was the name 

 given by the early Spaniards to the whole Bahama 

 group, for the legend is that the Bahamas were 

 discovered upon St. Luke's Day. There is no 

 rhyme or reason beyond similarity of sound to 

 the American "Key" in Key West. 



The differences between the various grades of 

 24 



