THE COASTS OF SICILY. 183 



or imperfectly known types, we waged a ruthless 

 war against them. A drag made in the form of a 

 bag, was fixed to the stern of our boat to collect the 

 smallest of these animal forms. Nets made in the 

 shape of pockets and attached to long rods, still 

 further lengthened by Master Perone's method of 

 making the rod tight to a line, were lowered to 

 a depth of twenty feet or more below the surface, 

 from whence they brought up the animals, which 

 they had thus arrested in the midst of their course 

 through the water. Large tin vessels, not unlike a 

 deep skimmer, captured them as they floated to 

 the surface. A dredge, provided with a heavy cut- 

 ting edge, scraped along the muddy or weed-grown 

 bottom, carrying away immense bunches of the 

 large oar-weeds, which supplied us with numerous 

 colonies of animals that had taken refuge within 

 their tangled branches. When the bottom was too 

 uneven or stony to admit of the employment of 

 this method, one of the sailors would immediately 

 strip, and, plunging head foremost, soon reappeared 

 with his trophy, which he deposited at our feet, 

 quite satisfied and proud at receiving our approving 

 bene! in return for his services. Occasionally, 

 when our success at sea did not equal our expec- 

 tations, we ran into shore, and, landing on the nearest 

 accessible point, we devoted our attention to the 

 littoral species. Here our tactics were of a totally 

 different nature, for the exigencies of the case 

 demanded great expenditure of strength in turning 

 up huge stones, or in breaking away the rocks, and 

 in these excursions hammers and heavy levers 



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