WONDERS OF THE DEEP 67 



As one would naturally expect, this work frequently 

 entails considerable danger to the native diver. 



Some of the finest qualities of sponge are to 

 be found in the Bahama Islands, the principal depot 

 being at Nassau. But others, possessing a greater 

 degree of coarseness, are also found, and as these 

 are cheaper than European sponges, the process of 

 preparation of the coarser qualities is not so careful. 

 Sponge fishing in the Bahamas, which gives employ- 

 ment to six or seven hundred vessels and about 

 five thousand men, is carried on in the enormous 

 beds that lie to the east, west, and south of the 

 island of New Providence. Although often far from 

 the shore, and at a depth varying from twenty to 

 sixty feet, the sponging ground can be descried 

 quite easily through the transparent waters on the 

 clear, sandy bottom, from which the sponges are 

 raked or grappled up. From William's Cay and 

 Andros Island the finest qualities of sponge are 

 obtained. The superior kinds of sponge are 

 most serviceable for surgical purposes, and when 

 prepared are generally despatched to America. 



The cleaning of the sponge is quite a simple 

 operation. The sponge is kept on the deck of the 

 boat until it is dead, and then it is thrown into a 

 "crawl," which is an enclosure of wattle specially 

 made for the purpose. Here the sponges are left 

 to soak for four to six days, during which time 

 they are repeatedly washed by the tide. After this 

 thev are taken out of the " crawl," and, as we have 

 already said, beaten with flat pieces of wood re- 



