206 



CORAL. 



Coral labour in the collection, other means have been em- 

 Pishery. ployed, and regular fisheries established for that pur 

 S """"Y"^^ pose, particularly in the Mediterranean and Adriatic. 



The principal implements in use are, in France, call- 

 ed engirt and salabre, which latter is in Italy denomina- 

 ted ordigno. The former is a long spar, retained by two 

 cords from above, and sunk by a weight in the middle: 

 one end is provided with an iron hoop eighteen inches 

 in diameter, opening into a strong hemispherical net. 

 At the opposite sides of the hoop are other two nets, 

 approaching to a triangular or conical form, descend- 

 ing far below. The second implement consists of two 

 long cross spars fixed in the middle, through which a 

 cord passes for retaining it above, and where also a 

 cannon shot is lodged to carry it down. At each of 

 the four extremities of the spars there is a large deep 

 pyramidal net, with meshes of unequal width. These 

 implements are carried out to sea in barks manned by 

 the stoutest fishermen; for it is a service both-of fatigue 

 and danger : in some fisheries, the spar of the former 

 implement exceeds the total length of the bark, and is 

 • lowered from the side ; whereas in others it is shorter, 

 . and for safety lowered from the stern. 



But, in order to understand how such unwieldy im- 

 plements may be successfully employed, it is necessary 

 to consider the natural site of coral. Those who have 

 had the best opportunities of observation unite in af- 

 firming, that this substance is almost invariably pro- 

 duced in submarine caverns, or on shelving rocks. In 

 the former, it is larger, more abundant, and of greater 

 value. Besides it is usually deep in the sea, as already 

 Observed. When the first implement is applied there- 

 fore, it is cautiously lowered from the bark, and by 

 means of the two retaining cords, guided under the 

 projecting rocks, or into the recesses below. There the 

 branches of the coral being entangled, are forcibly broke 

 off; and if the stem with the root can be obtained, it is 

 deemed a valuable acquisition; for the great difficulty in 

 fishing coral is to procure it entire. The other imple- 

 ment takes a w r ider range, and in addition to being 

 used somewhat in an analogous manner, it is employed 

 to recover the portions of coral broken off and lying at 

 the bottom of the sea. 



Marsigli affirms, that coral is most abundant in ca- 

 verns exposed to the south, and where the sea is smooth 

 and tranquil : that it is seldom found in a western ex- 

 posure, and never to the north. This is in general 

 true, but the tranquillity of the sea is not indispensable 

 to its copious production ; and from this results the 

 danger which frequently attends the fishery. Experi- 

 enced fishermen, aware of the places where it should 

 be found, search them out with extraordinary care and 

 diligence, and the first discoverer is sure to enrich him- 

 self by it. But a cavern, however fertile, must be vi- 

 sited at certain intervals; for although the coral, of 

 which it is despoiled, will be renewed, it is only after 

 the lapse of a considerable time. Marsigli judiciously 

 observes, "that a forest of coral may be compared to 

 a terrestrial forest ; and after the caverns containing it 

 have been ransacked, a certain interval must be allow- 

 ed for its renewal. But the sea not being under re- 

 stricted dominion like the land, the same order cannot 

 be preserved, which is adopted for the renewal of fo- 

 rests. Thus fishermen, by continually resorting to the 

 same places, prematurely break and destroy the grow- 

 ing coral, which time would otherwise bring to per- 

 fection." 



Marsigli's remarks are corroborated by other philoso- 

 phers ; and the first discoverer of a cavern will reap a 



fertile harvest, while those who follow can gain little, un- 

 less discretion attends their search. But the discovery 

 of such caverns is not reserved for fishermen solely, as 

 Donati, a distinguished naturalist, relates, that by means 

 of the implements above described, he succeeded in 

 finding one of great extent and uncommon fertility in 

 coralline products, at Porto Rosso, in the Adriatic. 

 In illustrating the necessity of a considerable interval 

 being allowed to elapse between the successive fisheries 

 of coral within the same limits, the Abbe Spallanzani 

 informs us, that, in the Strait of Messina, this interval 

 is ten years. The tract occupied for the fishery is di- 

 vided into ten parts, and one of these only resorted to 

 within the prescribed period often years, whereby suf- 

 ficient time is admitted for the regeneration of the co- 

 ral, while the fishery is uninterruptedly prosecuted du- 

 ring the season allotted for it. When this law, result- 

 ing from experience, is infringed, coral is obtained in- 

 deed, but of inferior quality. The most intelligent fish- 

 ermen maintain, that, in ten years, red coral attains its 

 extreme height, which is about a foot, and that its 

 thickness is scarcely increased ever after ; and likewise, 

 that at very great depths, its vegetation altogether 

 ceases. Spallanzani, in considering this fact, observes, 

 that coral fished up from the neighbourhood of San 

 Stefano, where none had been sought within the me- 

 mory of man, though of a bright red colour, was not 

 higher than ordinary coral, and exceeded it by only 

 about a third in thickness. In certain situations, how- 

 ever, it does not attain the height of half a foot in ten 

 years. 



The principal coral fisheries with which we are ac- 

 quainted are carried on at Marseilles, in the Strait of 

 Messina, and at the Lipari Islands. With regard to 

 the latter, eighteen or twenty barks, belonging to the 

 port of Messina, are employed in it. Each is manned 

 by eight seamen, who are inured to this pursuit, and 

 well acquainted with the navigation of the surrounding 

 seas. They are not exclusively devoted to the fishery, 

 which is followed only when they want other employ- 

 ment ; but it is necessary that they should be stout and 

 hardy, both from the attendant labour, and the danger 

 of the occupation. The quantity of coral annually ob- 

 tained by these vessels is said to exceed 3000 pounds, 

 of various quality, both of a white and red colour, and 

 of different shades. The size and fineness of the coral 

 regulate the price; some is reputed worth ten guineas an 

 ounce, and some is scarcely valued at tenpence a pound; 

 the oldest is the deepest in colour, which is accounted 

 a quality ; and there are reckoned no less than nine 

 different shades, from dark crimson to pale carnation. 

 White coral, which is also obtained in the Straits of 

 Messina, is of different shades ; but red is the most va- 

 luable, and the most constant object of research. 



During the months of June and July, the coral fish- 

 ery of the Lipari Islands is carried on by fifteen barks, 

 but less successfully than in the Straits of Messina. 

 Whether because the substance is exhausted, or the 

 fishermen not equally skilful, each bark, in a particu- 

 lar season, has not collected above 30 or 35 pounds of 

 coral. The superstitions of the people are known to 

 affect such pursuits ; for, some years ago, several 

 barks having been cast away in the Mediterranean, 

 a Dominican friar menaced the mariners and others 

 with excommunication, should they prosecute their en- 

 terprize. Nothing could be more effectual; and the 

 fishermen, to preserve their peace with the church, 

 were content to forego one of their sources of subsist- 

 ence. 



Coral 



Fhhery. 



