HOW SPONGES ARE PROCURED 



with a naked man. A successful diver must be both born 

 and made, and any member of the trade could tell, 

 almost at a glance, whether or no a stranger would ever 

 be of any use for such work. The ideal diver is the short 

 or medium -height man, with markedly sloping shoulders 

 and very deep chest, such a build being the best calcu- 

 lated to resist the terrible water-pressure. 



The dressing of the man is rapidly performed by one 

 or two members of the crew ; and here a brief description 

 of a diver's " rig " may be of interest to the reader. The 

 " dress " goes on first, and consists of coat, trousers, and 

 socks all in one piece ; this fits very loosely to the figure, 

 is made of mackintosh and lined with india-rubber, and 

 round the cuffs of this strange garment rubber rings are 

 fastened to keep it water-tight at the wrists. Then 

 comes the heavy breast-plate which is of copper, and 

 serves to relieve the chest of undue pressure ; and to this 

 is screwed a band of brass which goes round the chest to 

 the back. The heavily-weighted boots are then laced on, 

 and the cord or " life-line " knotted loosely round the 

 waist. Lastly there is the somewhat gruesome-looking 

 helmet, with whose shape all are familiar; the "eyes" 

 are window-panes on a small scale, protected by wire 

 gauze. The life-line is then carried up the left side of the 

 body, passes through a clip on the helmet, then is brought 

 down again over the chest where it meets a short cord 

 which has also been tied round the waist. 



Now the breathing apparatus. The nozzle of a wire- 

 lined rubber tube, like a garden-hose, is screwed into 

 a hole on the side of the helmet ; the tube is carried 



255 



