XII, D, 4 Seale: Sea Products of Mindanao and Sulu 195 



common grass sponge. It is not so fragile as the ordinary reef 

 sponge. 



Elephant' s-ear sponges. — Of the elephant's-ear, or cup, sponge 

 there seem to be but two varieties in the Philippines. One of 

 these is a very fragile, shallow-water form of very thin, rough 

 texture, of white or greenish color, and of no value. The other is 

 the genuine commercial elephant's-ear similar in all respects to 

 the elephant's-ear found in the Mediterranean Sea. This sponge 

 is pink when fresh from the water ; the walls are soft and very 

 tough and are from 1 to 1.5 centimeters thick. The valuable 

 variety of elephant's-ear sponge is found only in water of from 

 6 to 20 fathoms and is very common on the Basilan, the Zam- 

 boanga, and the Sacol beds. It is also probably common on 

 other beds, but no deep-water divers have yet prospected for 

 it in other places. 



Mr. P. I. Pipinos, of the Greek Sponge Company operating 

 from Zamboanga, who is an experienced Mediterranean sponge 

 dealer, has cured and exported these sponges, and he pro- 

 nounces them equal to the elephant's-ear of the Mediterranean. 

 This sponge is practically unknown to the American trade. 

 Mr. Pipinos gives its value at about 24 pesos per kilogram. The 

 market is wholly European. 



This sponge is used for the most expensive grades of padding 

 for helmets, racing saddles, etc. It is also used by glaziers in 

 finishing their products. 



OCCURRENCE AND GROWTH OF SPONGES 



Commercial sponges in their natural state have very little 

 resemblance to the cured and bleached specimens seen in the 

 druggest's window. When first taken from the water, sponges 

 are soft, slimy, irregular, and unattractive. In color they are 

 black, brown, gray, or green. 



The living sponge is covered with a thin skin, and its body 

 is traversed by irregular canals, which open to the surface by 

 large pores. Usually there are many fragments of coral, shell, 

 and other foreign material embedded in the sponge body. 



Sponges grow best on a sandy bottom that is well overgrow 

 with eelgrass or algje. On a rocky bottom they are apt to be 

 of poor shape. Sponges are hermaphroditic and reproduce 

 by two methods: namely, by budding and sexually. After fer- 

 tilization the eggs rapidly attain the free-swimming stage are 

 expelled from the body, and are carried far and wide by the 

 tides. After a short period they settle to the bottom, attach 



