TIII-: (ii.ovi: BPOXOB. - 17 



Spoil-. > are very numerous, i|i|ite permanent ill their positions. :iihl ii-iT^lll:irl\ -,- iltel. d ,IMT 111.' 

 sides of tin' mass, often remaining open even in dried >pe. -miens.. Tin- cloacal canals an- lew in 

 number, lull exceedingly large, anil their apertures arc irregularly scattered admit. but are 

 almost always on the upper side, of the colony. When living, the outer skin is of a dark brown, 

 very dark purple, or a Mack color. The external layer is usually more or less filled with whate\er 

 sediment may In- prevalent in the water, and, especially in tlie \Vest Indie-., with the siliceous 

 spicules of other Sponges. 



Only lour species or six so called subspecies of commercial S| gcs. arc recogni/cd iVom the 



Florida waters, and these give rise to the flvo grades, known to the trade, in the order of their 

 importance, beginning with the finest, as Sbeepswool, Velvet, Grass, and Clove Sponges. These 

 same grades and sul)s))ecies, with one exception, also occur among the Mahama Islands, the 

 .sponge fauna of Florida and the Bahamas being more or less identical, but the corresponding 



grades of these two regions are generally finest in the Florida waters, the Florida em rcial 



Sponges ranking much higher than the Bahama, and commanding higher prices. < 'ommereially, 



Bahama has two or three times as many grades of Sponges as Florida luit these < imeicial 



grades are not of specific or even subspecific importance. They result from a division according 

 to quality for the convenience of the trade. Notwithstanding the many Bahama grades, the 

 best of the Manama Sheepswool Sponges are inferior to the best Florida Sheeps\\ool. 



The following descriptions of the several Florida and Bahama commercial Sponges are taken 

 from Professor Hyatt's memoir, "Revision of the North American Poriferae," with notes on the 

 corresponding Mediterranean species: 



THE GLOVE SPONGE SPONGIA OFFICINALIS, Linn., subspecies TUBULIFEBA. 



"This subspecies, as compared with other American subspecies, baa a skeleton composed of 

 remarkably fine fibers, which bleach out to a whitish brown color. The MM face is covered with 

 line tufts of primary libers, which are, however, very pliable. The surface is generally quite free 

 from cushions and ridges, and the channels between these when they do occur are neither very 

 deep nor long. The result of these characteristics is a form with a smoother snrface and a denser 

 looking skeleton than usual, pierced on the sides by numerous small ajH-rtures, very regularly 

 distributed, and at the top by one or more large cloacal oscules. The form is generally dome like, 

 and is never, so far as I know, cup shaped, though it may become exceedingly irregular, listular. 

 or even dendritic. The older specimens show a decided tendency to increase by the prolongation 

 of the parts immediately around the apertures. Thus the main body of the Sponge becomes 

 projected into numerous smaller conical or head-shaped masses like the young of variety rotunda, 

 and crested masses like those of variety ditciformix. At an advanced age the fiber becomes very 

 brittle and unfit for domestic, purposes." 



This Mihspccics generally occurs abundantly upon hard bottom. While living its color is 

 black; the largest specimen seen by Dr. Edward Palmer, who collected many specimen- for 

 Profes-ior Hyatt, measured about eight inches in height by about twenty inches in circumference. 

 It lives on the coast of Southern Florida (Key West), and among the Bahama Islands (Nassau), 

 upon hard bottoms or reefs, in about six feet of water. Ten varieties are enumerated, all of 

 which inhabit American tropical SIMS. They are as follows: pcrttixa, iiiollix. praca, disfiftn-mi*, 

 rafiniilii. I'liirtn. i;>rl'>x(t\u-iii!x. <//</<./. f.nitirii, and xoliilii. 



The Glove Sponge ranks as the poorest of .ill the Florida commercial grades, and >et belonging 

 to the same species, under the name subspecies mediterranea, are the Levant Toilet Sponges, the 

 finest of all Sponges, and the fine-textured Turkey Cup Sponges. The different grades of the 



