THE BAHAMA ISLANDS 593 



a dexterous movement of the wrist and arm detaches the sponge and lands it 

 safely in the boat. At intervals the boatmen land on unfrequented keys and 

 throw the sponges on shore where the organisms are killed and decayed by 

 the heat of the tropical sun. They are then rinsed out thoroughly in sea 

 water, dried, sorted, and packed in bales for shipment (Plates XCIII and 

 XCII, Fig. 2). The following table will give a good idea of the quantity 

 of sponges shipped from the Bahamas to various countries during 1902: 



TABLE StfOWING EXPOETATION OF SPONGES FOR 1902. 



Country. Quantity. Value. 



lbs £ 



United Kingdom 179,797 8,867 



United States 752,382 50,339 



Canada 3,872 792 



Holland 126,693 11,566 



France 100,455 13,865 



Germany 132,710 11,184 



Russia 12,361 091 



AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS. 

 The chief agricultural interests of the Bahamas are confined to the 

 cultivation of pineapples, citrus fruits and sisal hemp. As the details of 

 the production of these crops has been discussed in the chapter on " Soils 

 of the Bahama Islands," they will not be reconsidered here; but a few sta- 

 tistics showing the relative importance of these three crops may be of interest. 

 During 1902 pineapples to the amount of 531,483 dozens, at a value of 

 £36,957, were shipped to the United States; in addition to this 47,893 cases 

 of canned fruits were shipped, at a value of £9,515. Most of this canned 

 fruit was pineapples. The following table gives the statistics of the pro- 

 duction and value of the crop of citrus fruits for a longer interval: 



TABLE SHOWING QUANTITY AND VALUE OF CITRUS FRUITS FOR THE YEARS 



1898-1902. 



Total 

 Year. Grape Fruit. Price per M. Oranges. Price per M. Export 



Value. 



No. £ 8. d. No. £ 8. d. £ 



1898 215,339 9 4 6 2,258,478 17 6 5,049 



1899 87,799 4 15 9 482,628 2 14 6 1,600 



1900 300,905 2 9 6 1,264,057 1 12 2 2,777 



1901 470i426 4 10 3 3,001,173 19 2 5,011 



1902 728,100 2 19 1 1,534,038 18 10 3,597 



The production of citrus fruits is one of growing importance in the 

 Bahamas, and it will be interesting in this connection to quote the observa- 

 tions of Governor Carter: 



" It will be observed that prices show a considerable variation. So far 

 as quality is concerned, it is doubtful if any adjacent country can produce 

 38 



