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Show Written for The Union : For many centuries the sponge was thought to be of tho vegetable kingdom, but learned men have found thai it really belongs to the animal kingdom. m Sponges are very elastic and consist con-sist of a frame work, composed of a horny substance, having many little holes all through it, and these are the stomachs of tho little animal ani-mal through which water, air and the little iusects on which it lives, pass, to furnish it with food and air. Sponges are of all shapes. round like a ball, like a cylinder and like a cone, and are sometimes bottle-shaped. They differ in their texture, being from very fine to quite course. Tho Mediterranean and Bed Seas are rioted for their sponges. They are also found in the West Indies and Florida. Boys are taught in their youth, to dive in the water and gather sponges with a sort of fork or hook attached to a long pole, t hat is made expressly for the purpose. When it is first brought up from the depths, it is shiny and you must remember it is a live animal, which is then placed in the sun or burried in the sand, so as to kill -the little animal, after which, it is soaked in water and then washed to make it ready for market. Nearly all are acquainted with the uses to which the sponge is put, but the French have taken the felt of the sponge and made a cloth which is used as the foundation of tho carpets and rugs tiiey manufacture. manufac-ture. They also uso it to stuff furniture. fur-niture. Prairie Flower. |