sponge and the Sponge Fisheries, 159 



cheapness of the specimens. The actual fishing is done 

 from boats, generally belonging to some schooner or larger 

 craft. The boats are sent out from the vessel manned by 

 two men. They are generally sold by the cargo. The 

 bases are clipped off, and the sponge trimmed with shears 

 and packed in pressed bales for transportation to New 

 York or England, where they are largely used for the 

 manufacture of pilot cloth, hats, etc. The coarser kinds 

 and clippings are also used extensively for stuffing mat- 

 tresses, carriage cushions, etc., in place of hair. They are 

 not of sufficiently good quality to compete with the Medi- 

 terranean sponges, and are therefore rarely employed for 

 domestic purposes, except in Great Britain and the coun- 

 tries of North and South America. The fisheries near 

 shore are abandoned in the winter on account of the turbid 

 state of the water, which becomes " milky " with sus- 

 pended coral sand during the more tempestuous months. 

 A more limited fishery, however, is still carried on at 

 Anchor Keys, some 35 miles outside of Cedar Keys, and 

 in other places where the water is stiller, clearer, and 

 warmer than nearer shore. 



The commercial grades coincide very closely in 

 America and in Europe, but it is easy to show that each 

 of them may be considered a distinct species if one has 

 an inclination to multiply in this direction. The grades 

 are glove sponge {Spongia officinalis), sub-species tubiili- 

 fera ; wool sponge {^Spongia equina), sub-species gossypina ; 

 and yellow and hard head (both under the name of 

 Spongia agaricina), sub-species corlosia. These correspond 

 with remarkable accuracy to the three principal grades 

 of commercial sponges in Europe, which are the bath 

 sponge {Spongia officinalis), the horse sponge {Spongia 

 equina), and the zimocca sponge {Spongia agaricina). 



