As there are seven men to each boat, the number of men engaged is about 4200.

The sponge fishing grounds are on the coast of Candia, Syria, and Barbary. The average depth at which sponges are found is 30 fathoms; those of an inferior quality are found at lesser depths. The sponge fishing-boats in the island of Calmynos amount to nearly 260, employing 1600 men and boys. These boats, called "scafi," are on an average six tons each, carrying from six to seven, and sometimes eight men, of whom two are rowers.

The proceeds from the sponge obtained are divided into shares, the divers receiving a whole share, and the rowers two-thirds of a share. A good diver will make from eight to ten dives during the day.

The sponge is covered with a thin, tough, black cuticle, inside of which there is a white liquid like milk, and of the same consistence. The sponge in this state presents a very different appearance to what it does when freed from these extraneous substances. The annual value of the sponges taken by the Calymniotes amounts to about £2500. The finest are sent to Great Britain; the common and coarser to France, Austria, and Constantinople.

The sponge fishery of Turkey has made a great advance by the introduction of diving apparatus. The quality fished in the Sea of Marmora is of second-rate quality, and is shipped to England, and a part to Trieste and Germany.

The following shows the value in round numbers of the sponges sold at Rhodes in 1861:-Fine, £41,000; common, £63,000; coarse, £7000; total, £111,000. Part of the sponges fished in the autumn of 1860 were sold in the early part of 1861, at 450 piastres per oke for fine, 120 for common, and 60 for coarse, which are the highest ever reached for the fine and coarse qualities. Towards the

end of the year, the prices declined nearly one-fourth. The crop of 1861 was abundant; the proportion of fine sponges was larger, and of a better quality than in former years. The divers say that the same quantity are not now found as ten years ago, so it must be inferred that they do not grow as fast as they are fished. The amount sent to each country was in the following proportion, out of 36 parts :— Great Britain, 13; France, 15; Austria, 5; and Constantinople, 2; total, 36. In 1867 30 cwt., valued at £700, were exported from Turkey.

The total value of the sponges obtained on the coasts of Syria is £20,000 to £25,000, which seems to be about the average of past years. The production, however, appears to be falling off through excessive fishing. Some 250 to 300 boats are at present employed in this industry, manned by 1200 to 1500 men. The centres of production are Tripoli and Batronn on the coast of Mount Lebanon, in the neighbourhood of which the best qualities are found. The fishing-boats, from 18 to 30 feet long, are each manned by a crew of four or five men, one of whom is especially engaged for the purpose of directing, while the rest are divers. The diver, naked of course, with an open net round his waist for holding the sponges, seizes with both hands an oblong white stone, to which is attached a rope, and plunges overboard. On arriving at the bottom, the stone is deposited at his feet, and the man, keeping hold of the rope with one hand, grasps and tears off with the other the sponges within reach, which he deposits in his net. He then, by a series of jerks to the rope, gives the signal to those above, and is drawn up. No knife, spear, or instrument of any kind is used. The depth to which the diver descends varies from 5 to 30 fathoms, each equal to an ordinary man's height.

Although marked by a great variety of quality and size, sponges may be generally classified as the fine, white, bell-shaped "toilet sponge; "the large reddish variety, known as "éponge de venise" or "bath sponge ;" and the coarse red sponge, used for household purposes, cleaning, France takes the bulk of the finest qualities, while the reddish and common sponges are sent to Germany and England.

etc.

The fisheries of the Lebanon employ 120 boats, manned by 550 men. The annual yield varies in value between £4000 and £6500.

The value of sponges directly exported from the Sporades is about £90,000 additional. Formerly, almost the whole quantity of sponges was sent from the islands of the Sporades to Rhodes for transhipment to Europe; but since the English steamers call at those islands, sponges are sent direct.

On the coasts between the latitudes 32° 20' and 33° 20', the qualities of soft and hard, fine and venise sponges, are mixed and fished for together, at about the same depth, from 4 to 15 fathoms. Beyond this depth the venise sponge, which is mixed with the other two kinds only in the proportion of about one-third, is more abundant, and constitutes the bulk of the fishery. At a depth of 20 to 30 fathoms, this sponge, of a large size, is almost exclusively found. The prices paid have been-for bath or common sponges, according to quality, from 40 to 60 piastres per oke (equal to 23 lbs.); fine sponges, from 120 to 200 piastres.

The sponges fished at Mandruha, on the coast of Africa, are always sold by the piece. The prices paid for them have been-bath sponges, from one and a half to four piastres a piece; fine sponges, from four to eight piastres a piece;

zimocca, or coarse sponges, from 15 to 18 paras a piece. In sponge transactions, the rate of the Turkish pound is 115 piastres; and of the pound sterling, 125 piastres. They still continue to send sanded sponges to England.

The sponges fished by diving apparatuses are not so good as those fished by neck-divers, these last going to deeper waters; the sponges there being of a superior quality. They therefore always cost from 15 to 20 per cent. more than the former ones. Although the diving apparatuses secure a more abundant crop, they are getting unpopular, owing to the many accidents which are to be deplored every season, the divers using them exceeding the depth prescribed.

The total number of diving apparatuses imported from France and Great Britain during the last 10 or 12 years is about 250, but not more than 110 are actually at work. The gears for these machines, which are annually renewed, are generally imported from England. The total number of sponge fishing-boats (including also those with diving apparatuses) belonging to Rhodes and the Sporades Islands, is about 700, employing 6000 men. During the year 1874, only 512 boats were sent to this fishery, of which 96 were supplied with diving apparatuses.

The sponge fishery in Tunis is most active in the months of December, January, and February, as, during the other seasons, the spot where the sponges are found is covered with dense masses of seaweed. The tempests of November and December clear away the latter, and allow the sponges to be seen. The fishery has, however, two seasons-one commencing in March and finishing in November; the other occupying the rest of the year. In the summer season the production is small, because diving apparatus is then necessary, and can only be employed