IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 337 
like a cup, and looking not so much like a Sponge as it does like a 
piece of rough bark. It is stiff, and not elastic like a common 
Sponge. 
Another kind is called — from its shape — the "Mermaid's. 
Glove." It is sometimes two feet high, and rough and thorny to. 
the touch. It is of a pale straw color. 
Sponge fishing is carried on in various places, and in various, 
ways. On the coast of Syria, many boats are sent out every year. 
Each boat has four or five men. The poorer kind of Sponges are_ 
found in shallow water, and are reached by a three-pronged sort of 
a fork, which tears them off from the rocks. But the better and 
finer Sponges are found in deep water, and for these, divers are 
employed. The diver takes a knife and carefully removes the 
Sponge without tearing it. Of course these Sponges cost more 
than those that are torn up. 
Sponge fishing is carried on at various places in the Mediter- 
ranean sea, and so many Sponges are brought up every year, that 
people begin to suggest that they should be cultivated before the 
race is extinct. 
The Arabs fish for Sponges in the Red sea, by diving. 
In the Gulf of Mexico, the fishermen sink a long pole into the 
water and drop down that, on to the Sponges. 
There is a great difference in the quality of Sponges, as you 
can see for yourself. The finer sorts are very expensive, and are 
used for the toilet only, while the coarser kinds are cheaper and are 
used in stables, and various, other places,. 
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