the sponge cleaner is confronted with a difficult decision. He may- 

 have to make cuts from a good form, downgrade the sponge because of 

 the cut, or run the risk of having the sponge downgraded or rejected 

 by the buyer,, 



Large particles can be detected by pinching the whole wet sponge 

 at different spots, whereas small particles — usually sand — can be 

 detected by close visual inspection through the channels. Some sponges, 

 especially those of the Grass and the Inshore types, tend to incor- 

 porate small particles of sand and shell during their growth,, Mediter- 

 ranean sponges, likewise, sometimes appear to grow around particles 

 or stone. These small objects are almost impossible to remove and, 

 accordingly, might be considered to be a character fault instead of one 

 of workmanship. In either case, however, the demerits for these faults 

 should be major. 



F. Odor . — Odor invariably will accompany poor removal of gurry 

 if the wet sponge is kept in a closed container for 2k hours. At 

 that time, the sometimes mild fishy odor develops into a strong one 

 resembling ammonia. It obviously lowers the value of the sponge to 

 the consumer. Customarily, however, demerits are assigned only on 

 the basis of the odor of the freshly wet sponge. Such practice was 

 followed by the writer in his studies of grading. It should be kept 

 in mind, however, that a gurried sponge that has been dried rapidly 

 in the sun may develop little odor when it is freshly wetted. 



G. Tears . — The first major fault of character in the list given 

 earlier considers any definite separation of the main body— not the 

 surface fibers — to be a tear, whether it be caused in collecting, in 

 removing an embedded shell, or in too drastic cleaning — such as 

 running the sponge through wringing rolls. Tears show up quite readi- 

 ly during the initial handling by the inspector. The wet sponge .is 

 held in both hands, with thumbs on top of the sponge, and the thumbs 

 are allowed to slide, with pressure, down the sides of the sponge. 

 Repeated on two to five diameters, this procedure will reveal the 

 tears. This same riffling, with the roots up, will reveal the bottom 

 imperfections, including dirt and crab holes. Serious tears rarely 

 appear in the marketed sponges, since torn spots are removed before 

 the sponges are sold. 



H. Holes, natural, too large, or through .— The writer has 

 graded the sponges according to the custom of giving large demerits 

 if the channels run through to the bottoms so daylight can be seen 

 through them. Actually, the thin bottom webbing that saved many 

 other sponges from receiving such large demerits probably does not 

 give much longer life to the sponge. Holes larger in diameter than 

 1/2-inch should be given demerits in proportion to the diameter of 

 the holes and to the number of them. Such holes tend to form weak 

 spots from which tears eventually will start during the useful life 

 of the sponge. It is difficult to set up a numerical proportion be- 

 tween demerits and the number or size of holes, but each hole larger 

 in diameter than 1/2-inch should be given 50 demits, or more, de- 

 pending on the size. 



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