24  The  Florida  Sponge  Industry.        { x  January fis™* 
working  room.  Each  vessel  carries,  according  to  its  size,  from  five 
to  fifteen  men,  one  as  cook  and  the  remainder  as  fishermen,  and 
also  a  small  yawl  boat  to  every  two  fishermen,  to  be  used  by  them 
in  securing  the  sponges.  In  addition  to  the  working  tools  for  tak- 
ing sponges,  they  are  provided  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provi- 
sions, wood  and  water  for  the  trip,  lasting  from  four  to  ten  weeks. 
The  working  outfit  for  a  Florida  sponging  vessel  consists  of  a  few 
small  yawl  boats,  called  dingies,  and  a  supply  of  sponge  hooks  and 
sponge  glasses.  The  boats  used  are  always  made  as  light  as  possi- 
ble. They  are  from  1 5  to  20  feet  long,  and  from  4  to  6  feet  wide. 
The  idea  is  to  have  the  boats  light  enough  to  enable  two  men  to 
haul  them  in  and  out  over  the  side  of  the  vessel,  and  yet  strong 
enough  to  withstand  the  rough  handling,  which  they  are  sometimes 
subjected  to,  and  to  carry  the  heavy  loads  resulting  from  a  day's 
catch.  While  catching  sponges  it  is  necessary  to  scull  the  small 
yawl  boats  (dingies)  from  the  stern,  and,  for  convenience  in  doing 
so,  this  form  of  sculling  notch  is  used  :  A  piece  of  oak  plank,  about 
6  inches  wide  and  1  foot  long,  is  notched  at  one  end  to  fit  the  oar 
and  inserted  at  the  other  between  two  guiding  strips  well  fastened 
to  the  stern  sheet.  This  sculling  notch  is  placed  at  one  side  of  the 
centre  of  the  stern  sheet,  and  is  made  to  be  easily  removable  in  order 
that  it  may  be  taken  out  of  the  way  when  not  needed.  The  sponge 
hooks  are  made  of  iron,  with  three  curved  prongs,  measuring  about 
5  to  6  inches  in  width.  The  entire  length  of  a  hook  is  about  8 
inches,  the  upper  end  being  made  into  a  very  strong  socket  for  the 
insertion  of  the  pole. 
The  sponge  glass  is  made  from  an  ordinary  wooden  bucket,  the 
wooden  bottom  being  replaced  by  one  of  ordinary  window  glass, 
securely  fastened  by  cement.  In  using  a  sponge  glass  it  is  placed 
upright  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  the  handle  of  the  bucket  is 
placed  on  the  back  of  the  neck  of  the  fisherman  with  his  head 
thrust  down  in  the  bucket.  In  this  way  the  fisherman  can  dis- 
tinctly see  very  small  objects  in  very  deep  water,  and  he  can  easily 
distinguish  good  sponges  from  those  of  an  inferior  grade. 
When  the  sponger  discovers  a  suitable  sponge,  through  the  aid 
of  the  sponge  glass,  he  hurriedly  grasps  his  hook,  and,  plunging  it 
directly  upon  the  sponge,  he  skilfully  pulls  it  from  its  habitation  and 
brings  it  up  to  the  surface  and  places  it  in  the  boat.  As  soon  as 
the  fisherman  collects  a  sufficient  quantity,  he  takes  them  to  the 
