NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 
23 ? 
prolonged nature than that of our own countrymen, it can not be said that their 
results were as striking or encouraging. Their studies, which were supported by the 
Austrian Government and merchants of Trieste, were finally abandoned, owing to the 
hostile attitude and depredations of the fishing population. 
The following are some of the special facts that have been established by the 
experiments in this country and abroad: 
(1) Sponges may be cut into small pieces, which will live and grow if properly 
attached in suitable water. They may be cut in water or on a moistened board with 
a knife or fine saw. Care must be exercised not to express the soft matter. The 
preferred size of the cuttings is about an inch broad and a little more in height. 
The outer skin is to be retained as far as practicable. In cutting, the lines of the 
circulating canals should probably be considered, although pieces cut without any 
reference to the direction of the canals have lived and grown. 
(2) Exposure of the sponge to the air in making and fixing the cuttings is not 
injurious, unless prolonged or in very warm weather. This is contrary to a prevalent 
impression, but seems to be amply proved. Mr. Munroe, in his experiments in 
Biscayne Bay, found that clippings from sponges that had been exposed several hours 
lived and grew; and in the Adriatic Sea sponge cuttings kept out of water, in a shady 
place, for eight hours in February, the air temperature being 48° F., took root when 
planted. It is probable, however, that in the case of larger sponges, when removed 
from their element, the weight of the contained water may have a crushing effect on 
the soft parts concerned in nutrition and thus retard growth in the clippings subse- 
quently made therefrom. In a high temperature the sponges have a tendency to rot ? 
hence the winter is regarded as the best time for planting. 
(3) Clippings may be made from distorted sponges having little market value, and 
will assume a symmetrical shape during growth. A healthy cutting will become 
firmly attached to a surface comparatively soon if it does not move. Even as short a 
time as 24 hours has been sufficient, in the European experiments, to secure attach- 
ment during the prevalence of warm weather. 
(4) The possible methods of attachment are various. This is a very important 
step, and probably the ideal practice is still to be determined. The things to be 
accomplished are: (a) to make the clipping fast pending the time when it will naturally 
take root; ( b ) to employ for this purpose some material that is not injurious to the 
sponge and will not distort its growth; (c) to place the attached clippings on the 
bottom in such a way that they will maintain the upright position and not be smothered 
by mud, sand, or sediment. The sponge clippings have been attached to boards, 
frames, poles, and different kinds of wire. The wooden parts are liable to attacks of 
worms, and some kinds of wire are injurious because of the chemical decomposition 
that ensues in salt water. The use of bamboo pegs seems to have given much 
satisfaction. 
In Europe, the cuttings appear to have been placed at depths of 1G or 23 feet, light 
being considered an objection, but in Florida the experiments have been conducted 
in water from 8 feet to less than 1 foot deep at low tide, and good results have been 
had at the shallowest depths. 
(5) The rate of growth in Florida waters is comparatively rapid. It is a common 
experience of spongers to find marketable sponges on grounds that had been 
thoroughly depleted of all salable sponges in the previous year, and the results of 
