74 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



The finer varieties of toilet sponge produce a high price, often 

 as much as forty shillings the pound weight for very choice specimens, 

 a price which few commercial products obtain, and which prohibits 

 their use, in short, to all but the wealthy. It is, therefore, very 

 desirable that attempts should be made to carry out the submarine 

 enterprise of M. Lamiral. With the assistance of the Acclimatisation 

 Society of Paris, some experiments have already been made in this 

 direction — so far without any satisfactory results, it is true, but every- 

 thing indicates that by perseverance we shall see the enterprise 

 crowned by the success it merits. 



In the Red Sea the Arabs fish for sponges by diving, the produce 

 being either sold to the English at Aden or sent to Egypt. 



On the Bahama banks, and in the Gulf of Mexico, the sponges 

 grow in water of small depth. The fishermen — Spanish, American, 

 and English — sink a long mast or perch into the water moored near 

 the boat, down which they drop upon the sponges ; by this means 

 they are easily gathered. 



The fine soft Syrian sponge is distinguished by its lightness, its 

 fine flaxen colour, its form, which is that of a cup, its surface convex, 

 voluted, pierced with innumerable small orifices, the concave part of 

 which presents canals of much greater diameter, which are prolonged 

 to the exterior surface in such a manner that the summit is nearly 

 always pierced throughout in many places. This sponge is sometimes 

 blanched by the aid of caustic alkalies ; but this preparation not only 

 helps to destroy its texture, but also changes its colour. This sponge 

 is specially employed for the toilet, and its price is high. Specimens 

 which are round-shaped, large, and soft, sometimes produce veiy 

 high prices. 



The fine sponge of the Grecian Archipelago is scarcely dis- 

 tinguishable from that of Syria, either before or after being cleansed ; 

 nevertheless, it is weightier, its texture is not so fine, and the holes 

 with which it is pierced are at once larger and less in number. It is 

 nearly of the same country as the former, in fact, the fishing for it 

 extends along the Syrian coast as well as the littoral zone of the 

 Archipelago and Barbary. 



The fine hard sponge, called Greek, is less sought for than either 

 of the preceding ; it is, however, most useful for domestic and for 

 certain industrial purposes. Its mass is irregular, it is of a yellowish 

 colour ; it is hard and compact, and pierced with small holes. 



The white sponge of Syria, called Venetian, is esteemed for its 

 lightness, the regularity of its form, and its solidity. In its rough 

 state it is brown in colour, of a fine texture, compact and firm. 



