CORALLINE. 



239 



assassin. The saying is a gratuitous insult to the sailor, but conveys 

 a good idea enough of the occupation. 



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

 are strong, 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 padrone or master. 



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

 called the engi?ie: 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, re- 

 sembling 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 " padrone," or captain, the bark having 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 Plate VII. 



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

 throws his engine overboard. As soon as the apparatus is fairly at 

 the bottom the speed of the vessel is slacked, 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 hori- 

 zontal 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, accordmg 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, andis hooked on to it. 

 To fix the lines upon the coral and bring them home, is a work of 

 very great labour. The engine long resists the most energetic and 

 repeated efforts of the crew, who, exposed half naked to the burning 

 sun of the Mediterranean, work the capstan to which the cable and 

 engine are attached, while the padrone urges and excites them to 

 increased exertion ; the sailors meanwhile trim the sails and sing 



