There sponges grew in every shape, globular, stalklike, leaflike, fingerlike. With reasonable accuracy, they lived up to their nicknames of basket sponges, chalice sponges, distaff sponges, elkhorn sponges, lion's paws, peacock's tails, and Neptune's gloves-- designations bestowed on them by fishermen, more poetically inclined than scientists. A gelatinous, semifluid substance coated the fibrous tissue of these sponges, and from this tissue there escaped a steady trickle of water that, after carrying sustenance to each cell, was being expelled by a contracting movement. This jellylike substance disappears when the polyp dies, emitting ammonia as it rots. Finally nothing remains but the fibers, either gelatinous or made of horn, that constitute your household sponge, which takes on a russet hue and is used for various tasks depending on its degree of elasticity, permeability, or resistance to saturation.
在這一帶海水里面,生長(zhǎng)著各種形狀的海綿,腳形海綿、卅狀海綿、球形海綿、指形海綿??匆?jiàn)這些形狀的海綿,詩(shī)人意味比學(xué)者意味重的漁人們給它們?nèi)〉拿趾苊烂?,例如花籃、花棗、羚羊角、獅子蹄、孔雀尾、海王手套等等…,都是非常恰當(dāng)?shù)?。從它們附有半液體膠質(zhì)的纖維組織中,不斷流出線一樣的水,這線水把生命帶進(jìn)了每一個(gè)細(xì)胞中,成后就被收縮的運(yùn)動(dòng)排除出來(lái)。這種半液體膠質(zhì)在水熄死后便不再分泌,它同時(shí)腐爛了,發(fā)出阿摩尼亞氣體來(lái)。這時(shí)候就只剩下那日用海綿所有的角質(zhì)纖維或膠質(zhì)纖維了。刀用海綿是茶褐色,根據(jù)它的彈力、滲透力或抵抗浸漬力的程度大小,可以安排它作各種不同的用途。
These polyparies were sticking to rocks, shells of mollusks, and even the stalks of water plants. They adorned the smallest crevices, some sprawling, others standing or hanging like coral outgrowths. I told Conseil that sponges are fished up in two ways, either by dragnet or by hand. The latter method calls for the services of a per, but it's preferable because it spares the polypary's tissue, leaving it with a much higher market value.
這些水螅叢附在巖石上,軟體動(dòng)物的介殼上,并且附在蛇婆莖上。它們把最輕微的凹凸都鋪平了,有的是擺開(kāi)來(lái))有的是豎起或垂下,像珊瑚形成的瘤一樣。我告訴了康塞爾,海綿可用兩種方法來(lái)采取,或用打撈機(jī),或用手。后一種方法要使用潛水的采綿人,這種方法比較好,因?yàn)椴粨p傷水螅叢的纖維,可以給它保留了很高的使用價(jià)值。