THE  SPONGE  FISHERY  OF  THE  BAHAMAS. 
367 
which  the  finer  descriptions  of  sponge  are  obtained.  The  coarser 
descriptions  entering  into  commerce  are  procured  about  the 
Bahama  banks  and  the  coast  of  Florida.  From  1000  to  1500 
bales  of  sponge  of  300  lbs.  each  are  shipped  from  Nassau,  New 
Providence,  annually. 
Sponge  fishing  is  said  to  have  become  a  very  profitable  busi- 
ness in  the  neighborhood  of  Key  West,  Florida.  About 
100,000  lbs.  are  reported  to  have  been  gathered  during  last 
year,  and  the  sales  amounted  to  25,000  dollars.  The  article  is 
mostly  procured  by  natives  of  the  Bahamas.  This  is  a  new 
branch  of  business  for  Key  West,  and  was  formerly  confined 
to  the  Mediterranean.  The  finer  quality  of  sponge  is  not  found 
on  the  American  coasts,  although  the  coarse  description  is  abun- 
dant all  about  the  coast  of  Florida  and  the  Bahama  banks. 
The  principal  supply  of  West  India  sponge  comes  from  the 
Bahama  Islands.  The  rapid  strides  made  in  sponging  within 
this  group  since  1847  appears  almost  incredible.  Although  the 
trade  has  been  carried  on  for  years,  a  Mr.  Hayman  was,  I  am 
informed  the  first  who  gave  it  an  impetus.  About  the  streets 
and  outskirts  of  Nassau,  New  Providence,  vast  quantities  of 
sponge  may  be  seen  covering  fences,  yards,  and  housetops,  where 
it  is  left  to  dry,  after  having  been  previously  buried  (in  order 
to  kill  the  zoophyte  which  inhabits  it)  and  washed.  It  is  after- 
wards divested  of  the  fragments  of  rock  which  adhere  to  it, 
pressed,  and  packed  in  bales,  averaging  300  lbs.  weight  each, 
for  the  London  market,  where  it  is  manufactured  into  cloth, 
hats,  &c.,  and  converted  to  many  useful  purposes  The  value 
of  sponge  in  surgery  and  for  domestic  uses  is  well  known. 
Spongio-piline  has  recently  become  the  medium  for  applying 
poultices  to  wounds  instead  of  cloth. 
To  show  the  importance  of  the  sponge  trade  in  the  Bahamas, 
I  may  add  the  following  statistics,  with  which  I  have  been  fa- 
vored by  a  gentleman  engaged  in  shipping  large  quantities. 
''From  Jan,  1  to  June  30,  1850,  there  were  exported  from 
Nassau  nearly  1000  bales  of  sponge,  of  the  value  of  at  least 
X5  per  bale  =:  £5000.  On  Jan.  1  a  very  small  stock  of 
sponge  was  on  hand,  while  on  June  30  every  dealer  in  this 
article  had  a  large  stock  ;  therefore,  as  it  is  a  cash  article,  there 
must  have  been  paid  to  the  crews  employed  in  this  trade  at  least 
