WONDERS OF THE DEEP 65 



the sponge is alive the skeleton is coated with a sticky 

 kind of matter of a gelatinous nature, and before the 

 sponge can be of any marketable value this soft, 

 sticky portion must be entirely removed. There are 

 various ways of doing this, according to the locality in 

 which the sponge is found. In the Bahamas, for 

 instance, the soft animal matter is beaten out by the 

 natives with flat pieces of wood that resemble small 

 paddles. 



There are now known to be no fewer than one 

 hundred and fifty different kinds of sponges. These, 

 however, may be grouped into two main classes, 

 namely, the common sponges, which are rounded or 

 flat in shape; and the finer sponges, which are con- 

 cave or cup-like in form. 



Sponges assume all kinds of shapes. Some are 

 like a beautiful vase, others are semi-cylindrical, while 

 others, again, are nearly flat, like an open fan. In 

 some cases the shape of the sponge bears a likeness to 

 an open hand; these are known as glove sponges. 

 Sponges are found very abundantly in tropical or 

 semi-tropical waters, the most noted sponge centres 

 being certain parts of Australia, the Mediterranean 

 Sea. the Red Sea, the West Indies, and the Bahamas. 

 Certain kinds of sponges, but not many, grow at an 

 extremely rapid rate. These have been known to 

 reach a diameter of a foot in so short a period as five 

 months. Others, on the contrary, grow exceedingly 

 slowly. Many sponges attain an enormous size. The 

 Williamson Submarine Expedition obtained several 

 photographs of the monster tub sponge, which grows 



