138 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



The barks sent to the fishing range from six to fifteen tons ; they 

 are solid, and well adapted for the labour ; their rig is a great lateen 

 sail, and a jib or staysail. The stern is reserved for the capstan, 

 the fishers, and the crew. The fore part of the vessel is reserved for 

 the requirements of the patron or master. 



The lines, wood, and irons employed in the coral fisheries are called the 

 engine : it consists of a cross of wood formed of two bars, strongly lashed 

 or bolted together at their centre ; below this a great stone is attached, 

 which bears the lines, arranged in the form of a sac. These lines have 

 great meshes, loosely knotted together, resembling the well-known swab. 



The apparatus carries thirty of these sacs, which are intended to 

 grapple all they come in contact with at the bottom of the sea. They 

 are spread out in all directions by the movement of the boat. The 

 coral is known to attach itself to the summit of a rock and to develop 

 itself, forming banks there, and it is to these rocks that the swab 

 attaches itself so as to tear up the precious harvest. Experience, 

 which in time becomes almost intuitive, guides the Italian fisher in 

 discovering the coral banks. The craft employed in the great fishery 

 have a " patron " or captain, the bark having a poop, with a crew of 

 eight or ten sailors, and in the season it is continued night and day. 

 The whole apparatus, and mode of using it, is shown in PL. III. 



When the patron thinks that he has reached a coral bank, he 

 throws his engine overboard. As soon as the apparatus is engaged, 

 the speed of the vessel is retarded, the capstan is manned by six or 

 eight men, while the others guide the helm and trim the sails. Two 

 forces are thus brought to act upon the lines, the horizontal action of 

 the vessel and the vertical action of the capstan. In consequence of 

 the many inequalities of the rocky bottom, the engine advances by 

 jerks, the vessel yielding more or less, according to the concussion 

 caused by the action of the capstan or sail. The engine seizes upon 

 the rugged rocks at the bottom, and raises them to let them fall again. 

 In this manner the swab, floating about, penetrates beneath the rocks 

 where the coral is found, and is hooked on to it. To fix the lines upon 

 the coral and bring them home, is a work of unheard-of labour. The 

 engine long resists the most energetic and repeated efforts of the 

 crew, who, exposed almost naked to the burning sun of the Mediter- 

 ranean, work the capstan to which the cable and engine are attached, 

 while the patron urges and excites them to increased exertion, and 



