resembling vegetable granulations, among which microscopic white and oviform bodies may be distinguished. These are the larvæ destined to perpetuate the species. When arrived at maturity, they are washed out by the sea water which incessantly flows through the sponge; they then swim along, by the aid of the vibrating cilia or hairs. with which they are provided, until they reach a suitable

rock, to which they attach themselves, and there commence a new life. This emigration of the larvæ from the parent sponge occurs about the end of June and the beginning of July. The fine qualities of sponges are chiefly found at the depth of 15 fathoms or thereabout; the common sponge lies at depths varying between 20 and 30 fathoms.

At Tripoli (on the coast of Syria, not of Africa) M. Lamiral engaged some divers, who commenced operations on the 21st of May. The sponges gathered were imme

diately placed in boxes, through which a stream of sea water was constantly made to flow, the animal matter being, of course, left on them, and protected from injury. These sponges arrived at Marseilles on the 17th of June; thence they were taken to Toulon and the islands of Hyères, where stone troughs, with five sponges in each, were sunk in different places.

During the past few years, Dr. Oscar Schmidt, Professor of Zoology at the University of Grätz, has employed several weeks of the early summer in artificially producing and rearing the bath sponge. His labours have met with such success that his system has been adopted by the Austrian Government, and is now carried on on the coast of Dalmatia.

It has for some time been a well-known fact that several families of zoophytes have such great powers of reproduction, that a portion of one will grow and form on an entire new body. This property has been taken advantage of by Dr. Schmidt, his process being to cut the sponge into pieces, fasten each portion to a pile, and immerse it in the sea. The pieces then grow, and eventually from each one a spherical sponge is obtained. According to the estimates of Dr. Schmidt, a small piece of sponge at the end of three years will represent a value of 5d. The total cost of raising 4000 sponges, including the interest on the expended. capital for three years, is estimated at £8 8s., and the income at about £16, leaving therefore a net profit of nearly £8. There is no doubt but that the practice of this branch of industry will be the means of considerable benefit to the inhabitants of the Idrian and Dalmatian coasts.

CHAPTER IV.

SPONGE FISHERIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.

Sponge trade of the Ottoman Islands-Market prices of sponge-Number of boats employed-Fishing grounds on the coast of Candia, Syria, and Barbary-Statistics of the fisheries-Operation of diving-Diving-bells and dresses now used-Imports of sponge from the Mediterranean-Total imports of sponge into the United Kingdom-French trade in spongeSilicious sponges.

The Sponge Trade of the Ottoman Islands.-It appears that, with few exceptions, in which the owners of sponge boats have capital, all the funds required for the equipment of these boats are furnished by native money-lenders, and that important foreign capital, especially British and French, has latterly been invested in diving apparatus since the introduction of this new mode of fishing for sponges in these islands. It is noticeable, too, that a large French firm, whose operations in this trade were on a very extensive scale, have of late somewhat reduced their trade, while on the other hand the use of British-made machines continues to increase, and it is mentioned that there is a decided preference on the part of the natives to work with British rather than with French diving apparatus. The whole of the machines now employed in the Ottoman islands is upwards of 100. Owing to the depressed prices

at which sponges have been sold during the last few years, and which have prevented divers from paying their debts to the native money-lenders, the latter, although in possession of bills for important sums of money, have not a sufficiency of cash to equip all the boats suitable for the sponge fishery. Notwithstanding the adverse circumstances, the quantity of sponges obtained of late has exceeded that of former years, in consequence of the more abundant crops. and improved diving apparatus. At the island of Halki, for instance, where 10 years ago the produce in sponges was hardly £10,000 a year, it amounts now, with the same number of boats, but working with diving apparatus, to nearly £20,000, thus showing a very important augmentation. It is mentioned, however, that the produce in sponges seems more than sufficient for the demand; and if all the available boats in these islands could procure the required money to enable them to go fishing, the extra quantities of sponges which would then encumber the markets would lower the price of the article to rates which would prove ruinous to the divers.

The average market prices of sponges for the year 1872 are shown per oke (equal to 23 lbs.) in the subjoined table:—

Bengazi and Mandruha sponges are not sold by weight,

but by piece; for the sake of comparison, however, their prices are proportioned to others. Bengazi fine sponges are exceedingly scarce.

The prices quoted in the foregoing, although higher than those of the two preceding years, are still rather low, and Hellenic sponge boats, which used to bring and sell their crops in the markets of the Sporades, now abstain from doing so. In fact, owing to the reduced prices offered in these islands for sponges, several of the most enterprising native sponge-dealers decided, a few years ago, instead of selling their sponges in the local market, to convey them to Europe, and retail them on their own account from place to place. There is not a single country-even Sweden and Norway-which these sponge-dealers have not visited, in order to sell their goods. A few of them journeyed even as far as America; while some settled in London, where their countrymen ultimately bought the quantities which they had not been able to dispose of in their peregrinations. These attempts have been so far successful. It is stated that the value of sponges sent annually to Great Britain is no less than £70,000.

The principal article of export from the Ottoman Archipelago is sponge. The number of boats employed varies, ranging from 400 to 600 in the year. The latter number may be said to be thus distributed, as belonging to the different islands :