290 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



Naples. In the Ladrone Islands Holothiiria guamcnsis is preferred. 



But nowhere is the Holothuria esteemed of such importance as in 



the Malayan and Chinese seas. In those countries, and on most of 



the shores of the Indian Ocean, the Holothuria eduHs, vulgarly called 



irepang, is eaten with delight. Thousands of junks are annually 



equipped for the trepang hsheries. The Malay fishermen carry to 



this fisheiy a degree of patience and dexterity truly remarkable. 



Lying down in the fore part of their vessels, and holding in their 



hands a long bamboo terminating in a sharp hook, their eyes, 



accustomed to , this fishing, frequently discover the animal at a 



distance of not less than thirty yards, as it creeps along the surface 



of the submarine rocks or corals. The fisher darts his harpoon at 



this distance, and s eldom misses his prey. When the water is shallow, 



that is to say, not more than four or five fathoms deep, divers are 



sent down to obtain these culinary monsters, who seize them in their 



hands, and in this m anner can take five or six at a time. To prepare 



the fish and preserve them for transport to the markets, the Malay 



and Chinese fishermen boil them in water, and flatten them with 



stones. They are then spread out on bamboo mats to dry ; first in 



the sun, and then by smoking them. Thus prepared, they are 



enclosed in sacks, and shipped to the Chinese ports, where they are 



particularly esteemed. lliis fishery takes place in the months of 



April and May. (Plate IX.) 



In his voyage to the' South Pole, Captain Dumont d'Urville, in 

 traversing the Ch inese seas, had an opportunity of assisting at this 

 fishery, which he has described very graphically, ^^'e quote the 

 passage in which the French navigator relates what he witnessed at 

 this curious scene. " While the ships were lying quietly at anchor, 

 we saw," he says, " entering the bay, four Malay proas, bearing 

 Dutch colours, which dropped their anchors about a cable's length 

 from Observatory Islet. The padrones or captains of these vessels 

 soon presented their sal utadons, and infomied me that they had started 

 from Macassar at the end of October, with the western monsoon, 

 and that they came to fish for Holothuria (trepang) along the coasts 

 af New Holland, from Melville Island to the Gulf of Carpentaria, 

 where the east wind met them, and assisted their return, when they 

 revisited all the points of the coast, anchoring in every bay where 

 they hoped to find fish. We were in the first days of April; the east 

 monsoon was definitely established ; the INIalay fishermen were 

 returning in their circuit, and in passing, they came to exercise their 

 industry in Raffles Bay. An hour after their arrival they were all at 

 work, and the shed for the preparation of their fish was established 



