Sponge (material)

As the bath sponge Sponginskelett by representatives of the Horn siliceous sponges has been used since time immemorial. This is a meshed backbone of horny threads which are surrounded on all sides in the living animal from its eigentlichem soft body. Taken fresh from the water, has a bath sponge as little resemblance to the bath sponge trade, such as a living person with his skeleton. Kneading, washing and leaving them in moist air is the Spongingerüst the bath sponge, which is close in chemical terms the substance of the silk thread, freed from the cellular elements. Previously, only the ordinary bath sponge ( Spongia officinalis ) and the horses sponge ( Hippospongia equina ) of the Mediterranean were used practically. Since the mid 19th century, the Caribbean species Spongia barbara (german yellow sponge ), Spongia graminea ( grass sponge and "glove sponge " ) and Hippospongia are lachne ( sheepswool sponge ) and Hippospongia gossypina ( velvet sponge ) and the reef sponges Spongia pertusa and Spongia tubulifera been added.

Extraction

Towards the end of the 19th century it has been tried as artificial propagation of bath sponge. This is to obtain from a living sponge bath by cutting, Anpflöcken of cuts and sinking them at appropriate places of the sea as many whole bath sponges, as we have cut sections. However, these by O. Schmidt employed in the Dalmatian and quarnerischen waters trials have had to be abandoned because all timber plants were destroyed by pole worm ( Teredo ), and because the Dalmatian coast residents destroyed the plants and robbed.

The propagation of the bath sponge by free, from eggs developing larvae is a very abundant; Nevertheless, the yield of sponge fishing was constantly low, because you began in the first weeks of spring with the exploitation and millions more in the sponge contained larvae destroyed. In 1870, Sterling bath sponge was introduced from the Mediterranean countries in England for 113,000 pounds. Meyers Lexicon (1888-1890) describes the former practice as follows: " In the Greek sea and on the Syrian coast, one gains the bath sponge from May to late September by divers from a bark from. You go 18 meters deep and hold 90 seconds of 3 minutes. To the Dalmatian and Istrian coast, the inhabitants of the island Krapano fish, the sponges with four-pronged forks. The sand, which almost always found in the sponges is, they incorporated only in the magazines of the wholesalers to increase their weight. "

The value of imports of bath sponges of all kinds into the German Empire in 1880 amounted to 7.067 million marks; the export of 1,024,000 Mk

Although today most of the sponges used is produced artificially, there is still demand for natural sponges, which are harvested by divers in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. For example, the Greek island of Kalymnos provides around 50 tons of natural sponges per year.

Qualities

The finest bath sponge comes from the Syrian and Asia Minor coast and several islands of the archipelago; the east coast of the Adriatic Sea to Trieste, the African coast from Tunis to Morocco and the Red Sea sponges provide. For the eastern districts of İzmir is, for the Western Tripoli 's main market. In Trieste, Livorno, Genoa, Venice, Marseilles, secretes the goods then in more detail on the shape, size and fineness; the highest are the regular round, cup- or pilzhutförmigen estimated; the most delicate Levantine sponges are purchased almost exclusively for Paris.

The coarse horses sponges are mostly coming from Cyprus and the coast of Africa.

The Bahama sponges from the West Indies, known since 1841, are dark colored, loose and of coarser texture.

Bastard sponges are called the hard, little swelling in water pieces.

The occurring in our waters sponges are useless because they crumble dried.

The finer sponges can be enhanced by appropriate treatment very, but only at the expense of durability. They are treated with hot sodium carbonate solution, washed carefully and submit them to dissolve the lime in dilute hydrochloric acid; they are bleached in a solution of hyposulphite of soda ( sodium thiosulfate ) with hydrochloric acid; they are thus at the same time very tender, but must be carefully washed out because of the finely divided sulfur, which separates out from the decomposition of sodium thiosulfate, when using the eyes could be harmful.

Main trading centers for bath sponges were Izmir, Trieste, Venice, Livorno, Tripoli, Marseille and Genoa.

Use

In surgery, formerly used often compressed sponges ( Spongiae compressae ) to expand sores and pus to escape. You pressed fine, cleaned damp sponge pieces by sharp wrapping with twine together or pushes them moist in glass tubes into it and let it dry for them here.

The wax sponge ( sponge-tent, Spongia cerata ) prepares you by immersing cleaned and dry sponge pieces into melted wax and slightly pressed between slightly moistened boards. Even the burnt sponge produced by the burning up of waste sponge (sponge coal, Spongiae ustae, Carbo Spongiae ) found earlier medical use against the crop; thereof the active ingredient is most likely iodine which will now be used with a greater safety in other forms.

One uses the bath sponge also for the filtration of water in the so-called sponge lamps and cushions. It is cut by rotating knives as finely as possible, washed, dried and then soaked in dilute glycerine. After evaporation of the water some glycerin remains in the fibers and keeps it elastic.

Small Naturschwämmchen find as menstrual hygiene products use. They are moist introduced during the menstrual bleeding in the vagina to collect the menstrual blood there, and when they are soaked, washed, expressed and used again. Again, there is now an alternative foam product that is sold as a soft pad.