146 
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THE MEDITERRANEAN N ATI RALLS T 
As an instance of the amount of work that a . 
diving boat can do in a season, : nd of J he mania, . : 
in which this special kind of work pays, the fol- 
lowing items may be compared. 
The boat and the machine of the- divers cos, , 
about £180. and the working expenses for 
season are about £ 240. This represent," : ■ ■ ' 
outlay of £ 400. The average ‘'take' k j 
days work is 180 oche (225 lbs.) of the hi ••• 
quality sponges, the market value of wkuh i 
about £ 144. Larger boats and sometimes 
steamer attend on the divers i ud tran up then ; 
cargoes so that the fishing boats ha\ e no occt 1 
to leave the grounds until the. end of the season, 
which generally lasts from ten to twelve week". 
Contrasting these items we have. 
Expenditure. 
Income. 
£ 
_£* 
Cost of Boat and 
Ten weeks “take” 
Machine 
160 
averaging 180 oche of 
Working expenses 
sponges every 15 days 
for the season 
240 
@ £144 per 180 oche. 
= £144x5= 720 
£ 400 
* 
£ 720 
400 
Clear profit £ 320 
That is to say that each boat can clear between 
£ 300 and £ 400 during the season. Before it is 
ready for the market the sponge lias several 
processes to go through. It is first maceraled, 
washed, and dried after which if is clipped- , and 
sorted into various grades according o its size read 
quality. These processes, however, add but little 
to the working expenses. The majority of the 
sponges that come from the Lampedusa i. r r :i u 
are of a much finer quality than are the varieties 
obtained from Tunis, the Gulf of Gabes, and the 
neighbouring coasts. This is principally due to 
the marked differences that exist between the 
nature of the sea bottom in these districts. It 
has been shown that the close proximity of con- 
tinental areas, and especially of river mouths is 
inimical to the development of sponge life, owing 
to the. muddy conditions of the bottom that 
invariably exist there. 
The sea bed in the vicinity of Lampedusa is 
of a sandy and rocky character, and it is thus 
specially suited to the life-habits of these pro- 
tozoa. Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, and the coasts of 
Syria abound with beds of varying areas; and as 
an example of the value of the products of this 
form of industry it has been officially suited that 
from Calymnos alone the value of the sponges 
exported exceeds the value of £ 125,000 a nnualltf. 
There is no doubt but that, judging from the 
nature of the conditions . under which these 
sponges grow, there are numerous similar beds 
scattered over the great submarine plateau which 
occupies the greater portion of the area of the 
southern half of the Mediterranean. The confor- 
mation and nature of the sea bed around the 
Maltese Islands, the close proximity of the Tuni 
sian and Lampedusan sponge fields, as well as the 
more tangible' evidences that are afforded us on 
the shores of Chain Toffiba, St. Paul’s Bay, and 
Meileha Bay by the numerous sponges that are 
cast up there after every storm afford proofs con- 
clusive that Malta, too, has sponge-beds situated 
at no great distance from hei v shores. Enterprise 
and energy are all that are required to bring them 
to light, and if these be forthcoming there will 
then be no reason why, another regular and thriv- 
ing industry should not be established in Maltese 
waters. 
J ohn H. Cooke. 
The Poppy, its Cultivation and U^es. 
The poppy is grown in India for opium over a 
region about 600 miles long and 200 miles wide. 
The plants come into full flower in February, 
when three or four feet high, and each stem pro- 
duces from two.. to five capsules about the size of a 
duck’s egg. Before piercing these capsules, the 
petals are collected, made into circular cakes from 
10 co 14 inches in diameter, fried over a slow lire, 
and preserved for covering for the drug. In the 
morning it is collected in an earthenware pot, m 
which it is exposed to the air — but uot to the sun 
— for three or four weeks, when the raw opium is 
