Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January.  1895.  J 
The  Florida  Sponge  Industry. 
23 
broaden  out  so  as  to  cover  the  entire  width  of  the  reefs,  which  are 
much  broader  here  than  at  the  north.  The  entire  southern  half  of 
the  grounds  has  more  or  less  of  the  same  breadth,  which  is  about 
13  or  14  miles.  The  second  sponging  ground  begins  just  south  of 
Anclote  Keys,  with  a  breadth  of  7  or  8  miles,  which  it  maintains 
from  a  point  opposite  Bat  Fort  to  Sea  Horse  Reef,  just  south  of 
Cedar  Keys.  The  total  length  of  this  sponging  ground  is  about  60 
geographical  miles.  Its  distance  from  the  shore  varies  somewhat. 
At  the  south  the  inner  edge  approaches  within  4  or  5  miles  of  the 
main  land,  and  comes  close  upon  Anclote  Keys  ;  but  throughout  the 
remainder  of  its  extent  it  is  distant  6  to  8  miles  from  the  shore 
until  it  touches  the  shallow  bottom  and  reefs  of  Cedar  Keys.  The 
depth  of  water  on  these  grounds,  as  indicated  on  the  coast  survey 
charts,  ranges  from  3  to  6  fathoms,  but  many  portions  are  undoubt- 
edly shallower  than  this.  The  northern  ground,  which  maintains  a 
nearly  uniform  width  throughout,  is  about  70  miles  long  by  about 
15  miles  broad.  It  approaches  to  within  about  5  miles  of  the  shore 
and  terminates  just  off  the  mouth  of  Saint  Mark's  River;  the  depth 
of  the  water  is  the  same  as  upon  the  next  one  to  the  south,  i.  e.f 
from  3  to  6  fathoms.  The  total  area  of  the  Florida  sponging 
grounds,  which  are  now  being  worked,  including  also  those  that 
were  formerly  fished  upon  but  have  since  been  more  or  less  aban- 
doned, may  be  roughly  stated  at  about  3,000  square  geographical 
miles.  This  probably  does  not  include  all  of  the  sponging  grounds 
occurring  in  Florida  waters,  for  the  fact  that  new  areas  are  being 
constantly  discovered  would  indicate  that  there  might  still  be  more 
to  find,  and  it  is  certain  that  no  strenuous  efforts  have  yet  been  made 
to  extend  the  grounds  already  known,  the  discovery  of  new  ones 
having  generally  been  made  by  accident. 
The  sponge  fishery  of  the  Florida  coast  differs  from  that  of  the 
Mediterranean,  in  that  sponges  are  not  obtained  by  divers,  but  by 
means  of  a  long  hook  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  long  pole, and  managed 
from  a  small  boat.  In  Florida,  small  vessels,  of  from  5  to  50  tons 
measurement,  are  employed  to  visit  the  grounds  to  afford  quarters 
for  the  men,  and  to  bring  home  the  catch.  These  vessels  are  gen- 
erally of  light  draught  and  schooner  rigged,  having  proportionately 
large  decks  on  which  to  carry  boats,  working  gear  and  the  sponges 
caught.  The  holds  are  of  considerable  size  for  storing  the  sponges, 
and  the  cabins  generally  small,  indicating  a  sacrifice  of  comfort  to 
