142 ISLES OF SUMMER. 
sponges were represented to be the best by those who sold sponges 
at the hotel. : 
For the purposes of sale the Bahama sponges are divided into 
eight classes, and though they find a ready market, they are con- 
sidered inferior to those which are found in the Mediterranean— 
and this is equally true of corals. I was informed by an exten- 
sive dealer in sponges, that the Florida waters produce sponges 
of a quality superior to those of the Bahamas, though not equal 
to those of the Mediterranean. 
The quantity and value of sponges annually exported from the 
Bahamas has not been uniform. In 1855, sponges were exported 
of the value of nearly $50,000; in 1861, of over $150,000; in 
1877, over $90,000; in 1878, nearly $125,000; and the aver- 
age for ten years prior to 1864 was nearly $87,000. The increase 
in quality and value in 1878 was caused by the re-opening of the 
Cuban sponge fisheries which were closed during the Cuban in- 
surrection. The Bahama sponge fleet entered last year the Cuban 
‘waters, and by over production soon broke down the market. 
Some of the finer qualities were exported to France, but the 
largest portion of the Bahama sponges are sent to the United 
States and to England. 
