holes, tears, and exterior dirt. This sponge was found to be more 

 uniform than was any other in the following three characteristics: 

 red body, ease of splitting, and stiffness when wet. These character- 

 istics can be used for purposes of identification. A standard number 

 of demerits for each one was given to every Florida Yellow sponge. 



Table 5. — Average number of demerits characteristic of each 

 grade of Florida Yellow sponge 



Grade 



Average demerits 

 found by grading 



Demerits recom- 

 mended to be taken 

 as characteristic 



Recommended mid- 

 point to next 

 lower grade 





Number 



Number 



Number 



Forms 









No. 1 

 No. 2 

 No. 3 



5oU 

 710 



500 

 550 

 710 



525 

 630 

 770 



Cuts 









No. 1 

 No. 2 

 No. 3 



526 

 596 

 727 



520 



570 

 730 



5k$ 

 650 

 780 



Forms and Cuts 



Not available 



830 





No. U 



880 



Anclote Gras3 



Table 6 gives the demerits found for the Anclote Grass sponge. 

 Forms were practically nonexistent. This sponge almost always con- 

 tained some trapped sand or shell particles, was quite tall and ir- 

 regular in shape, had poor tear strength, contained many large holes, 

 and when not too stiff to be squeezed easily, had a weak inside 

 structure. No new faults became prominent as the grades went down# 



Florida Key Wool 



Table 7 gives the presently available data on the average number 

 of demerits characteristic of the Florida Key Wool sponge. Not enough 

 samples were received to give a firm average grade rating at this 

 time. Since this sponge showed evidence of Inshore feathers and re- 

 sembled a cross between Inshore sponges and Mediterranean sponges, 

 ratings for Inshore sponges were used tentatively as a guide. The 



30 



