MOLLUSCA. 65 



sets out with the land-breeze, reaching the banks in time to commence 

 fishing at sunrise, and starting on its return with the sea-breeze about 

 noon. A gun is fired when the fleet is seen from the shore, to acquaint the 

 owners with the fact. The shells are placed upon mats in pits, and buried 

 until the animal is rotted and become dry, when the shells are easily opened 

 and the pearls readily found. 



Each boat has twenty men and a pilot. Of these ten are divers and ten 

 boatmen, who row and assist the divers. Five dive at a time, and when 

 these come up the other five go down, which gives them time to recover 

 for each successive dive. The boat has five stones, of which each diver 

 takes one to accelerate his descent, and this is attached to a distinct rope, 

 to be drawn up at leisure. These men use their toes with great facility in 

 picking up small objects from the ground, and when one of them is ready to 

 descend he catches the rope which holds the stone with the toes of the right 

 foot, his network bag with those of the left, and the rope which is to draw 

 him up with his right hand, the other hand being employed to close his 

 nostrils. When he reaches the bottom the bag is hung round his neck, and 

 he commences filling it as rapidly as possible, returning in the course of 

 about two minutes, first making a signal with the rope in his right hand. A 

 diver may make forty or fifty plunges in a day, and bring up one hundred 

 shells each time. This takes place in water from thirty to fifty feet deep ; 

 and as the pressure must diminish the volume of air in the lungs, the water 

 must enter the nostrils to a greater or less distance. In consequence of 

 this, when the diver emerges, water, and often blood, are discharged from 

 the mouth, nostrils, and ears. Captain Percival states further, that there 

 are divers who can remain imder water four or five, and in one case six 

 minutes. Some oiled their bodies and stufied their ears and nostrils before 

 descending, but this practice was not general. 



The Greek divers were celebrated in ancient times, and they seem to 

 have preserved their skill up to the present day. Like those of the Indian 

 seas, they are taught to dive from childhood. Dr. Lefevre, a French navy 

 surgeon, gives an interesting account of them, having been present when 

 they were employed in recovering property from the vessels sunk at the 

 battle of Navarino, The water was from one hundred to one hundred and 

 twenty feet deep, and yet the divers not only reached the outside of the 

 vessels, tearing ofl' the copper, &c,, but they entered the hold and brought 

 out small objects, such as pistols, Turkish pipes, &c. When ready to 

 descend, the Greeks seat themselves upon the edge of the boat, with their 

 elbows upon their knees, and breathe rapidly with short inspirations, making 

 the sign of the cross at intervals. Finally, they take a deep inspiration, 

 and plunge headforemost, having a small rope attached to the thumb of the 

 right hand, by which they may be drawn up when they dive deep. 



Dr. Lefevre, at three dift'erent times, carefully noted the time that the 

 divers remained under water, and with the following result : Out of 

 fourteen divers, the shortest period of submersion was fifty seconds ; two 

 remained sixty-five ; among the longest, two remained under ninety, 

 one ninety-four, one ninety-five, and one ninety-eight, the average being 



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