186 
Sponges. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X      April,  1881. 
silex,  one  might  suppose  them  to  be  perfectly  transparent ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  are  translucent,  and  have  a  most  exquisite  opalescence.  The 
structure  has  a  woven  fabric,  and  as  it  progresses  it  takes  on  the  most  quaint 
little  flounces,  with  the  most  delicate  frilled  edges  imaginable,  and  all 
arranged  with  such  charming  grace  and  ease.  The  lace-like  structure  is 
so  aerial  a  fabric,  so  quaintly  graceful,  and  so  deftly  done  in  the  putting 
together,  that  any  embroidery  would  seem  bungling  in  comparison. 
The  Clionci. — Sponges  to  which  this  name  has  been  given  have  been 
observed  to  have  the  power  of  boring  into  substances  the  hardness  of  which 
might  be  considered  a  protection  from  such  apparently  contemptible  foes. 
Shells,  corals  and  solid  rocks  are  broken  up,  and  probably  made  available 
for  the  supply  of  the  necessities  of  other  creatures.  The  mechanism  by 
which  so  low  an  animal  produces  so  remarkable  effects  is  still  doubtful^ 
but  is  attributed  to  a  multitude  of  minute  silicious  crystalline  particles 
adhering  to  the  surface  and  set  in  motion  by  something  analagous  to  ciliary 
action. 
Tlie  Mediterranean  and  Red  seas  have  from  time  immemorial  afforded 
the  finest  sponges  of  commerce,  and  at  the  present  time  the  most  important 
sponge  fisheries  are  those  of  the  Grecian  Archipelago  and  the  coast  of 
Syria,  the  products  of  which  find  their  way  to  all  i^arts  of  the  world.  The 
trade  in  sponges  with  Europe  and  America  has  of  late  greatly  increased. 
Some  three  or  four  hundred  boats  are  regularly  engaged  in  the  sponge 
fishery  in  these  waters  during  the  fishing  season,  which  usually  com- 
mences about  the  beginning  of  June  and  terminates  at  the  close  of  October, 
the  months  of  July  and  August  being  the  most  favorable  for  the  pursuit  of 
the  industry.  The  method  pursued  by  the  sponge  fisher  is  about  as  fol- 
lows: A  boat's  crew  of  four  or  five  men  will  scatter  themselves  along  the 
coast  for  two  or  three  miles,  in  search  of  sponges  under  the  cliffs  and  ledges 
of  rock.  Those  of  inferior  quality  are  found  in  shallow  waters  ;  the  finer 
qualities  are  only  found  at  a  depth  of  from  20  to  30  fathoms.  The  first  are 
fished  for  with  three-pronged  harpoons,  by  which  they  are  forcibly  torn 
from  their  rocky  attachments,  with  more  or  less  injury  to  their  textures. 
The  finer  kinds  are  collected  by  divers,  who  descend  to  the  ocean's  bed  and 
carefully  cut  them  from  their  fastenings  with  a  knife. 
The  sponge  fisheries  of  the  archipelago  yield  a  large  annual  product^ 
but  the  quality  is  not  so  fine  as  that  of  the  Syrian  fisheries,  while  the 
Syrian  sponges  in  turn  are  surpassed  in  dimensions  and  fineness  of  tissue 
by  the  product  of  the  Barbary  coast.  The  sponge  fishery  of  these  favored 
regions  is  conducted  without  intelligent  direction  or  thought  of  preserving 
the  supi)ly,  in  consequence  of  which  the  product,  though  it  has  of  late 
largely  increased,  must  in  time  become  restricted  in  quantity  from  the 
failure  of  the  supply.  Well  informed  writers  on  this  subject,  in  fact,  assert 
that  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  trade  shall  altogether  cease,  un- 
less some  reform  in  the  existing  state  of  things  shall  be  introduced,  as  the 
demand  which  every  year  clears  the  submarine  fields  of  these  sponges 
causes  such  destruction  that  even  the  prodigious  reproductive  power 
which  they  possess  is  inadequate  to  keep  up  the  supply. 
To  successfully  counteract  the  rapid  depletion  of  the  sponge  in  these 
waters,  it  has  been  repeatedly  proposed  to  naturalize  the  more  valuable 
