PRECIOUS CORAL. 



Of the great number of forms and 

 species of coral known a single one fur- 

 nishes nearly all that is used in jewel- 

 ry. This species is known by the scien- 

 tific name of Corallium rubrum, and be- 

 longs to the family Gorgonidae of the 

 group Alcyonaria. It is a branching 

 coral, shrub-like in its appearance, and 

 grows to a height of a foot or more, 

 with stems an inch in diameter. If the 

 living coral be examined it will be 

 found to consist of an outer fleshy or 

 gelatinous portion enclosing an inner, 

 hard, calcareous skeleton. The outer 

 portion is made up of numbers of polyps 

 as the little coral animals are called, 

 joined together. The projecting polyps 

 look in life like little warts over the 

 surface. Each has eight tentacles. The 

 internal skeleton differs from that of 

 the majority of corals in being red in 

 color. When the coral animals die this 

 internal skeleton is left and by polishing 

 it, the coral of jewelrj^ is obtained. This 

 kind of coral grows almost exclusively 

 in the Mediterranean Sea. The localities 

 where it is most abundant are the coasts 

 of Algiers and Tunis, tlie western coasts 

 of Sardinia and Corsica, portions of the 

 coast of Sicily, the western coasf of 

 Italy and a few localities on the southern 

 coasts of France and Spain. The coral 

 forms banks at depths of from ninety to 

 one hundred feet, growing up from the 

 bottom. That of the greater depths has 

 not as rich color as that nearer the sur- 

 face and does not grow to so large a 

 size. The work of dredging the coral 

 is performed by fleets of small vessels 

 manned by crews of from six to twelve 

 persons. Work is carried on only in 

 the summer months because of the 

 stormy weather at other seasons. The 

 vessels are obliged to put out about six 

 miles to sea in order to reach the best 

 fishing grounds and the work Is of a 



laborious and dangerous sort. The 

 dredging is performed by means of an 

 appliance consisting of two heavy oaken 

 sticks bound together in the shape of a 

 cross, from the ends of which hang ropes 

 upon which are fastened nets with 

 meshes of different sizes. On being 

 sunk to the botton by means of a heavy 

 stone, the nets of the dredge entangle 

 the branches of coral and upon drawing 

 to the surface the latter can be picked 

 off. The price obtained for the raw coral 

 is from four to seven dollars per pound, 

 each vessel securing from three hun- 

 dred to four hundred pounds in a sea- 

 son. 



The industry is almost exclusively in 

 the hands of Italians, although original- 

 ly carried on by the French. The latter 

 are said to be striving by means of 

 subsidies and in other ways, to regain 

 control of the industry, especially on the 

 Algerian coasts. The production from 

 this region alone amounts to 22,000 

 pounds yearly. The cutting and work- 

 ing of the coral is carried on chiefly in 

 factories in the cities of Genoa, Leghorn 

 and Marseilles. The value of the crude 

 coral varies considerably according to 

 its quality. If the coral polyps have died 

 before a branch is brought to tlie sur- 

 face, the coral turns black and its value 

 is thus considerably decreased. On the 

 shores of Sicily a large proportion of 

 dead coral is brought up and the pro- 

 portion is continually increasing. The 

 cause is believed to be the quantities of 

 volcanic ash thrown from the neighbor- 

 ing" volcanoes which makes the water too 

 muddy for the polyps. Some of the coral 

 found is considerably worm eaten and 

 this sort is highly valued in some parts 

 of India, although regarded worthless in 

 Europe. The particular shade of coral 

 most highly valued by Europeans varies 

 from time to time. At one time the 



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