THE CORAL FISHERY OE THE MEDITERRANEAN. 373 



hard, compact, and solid. Coral has the hardness and brilliancy of the 

 agate ; it polishes like gems, and shines like garnet, with the tints of the 

 ruby. It is found almost on the whole length of the Mediterranean 

 Sea ; but that obtained at great depths is the handsomest and the most 

 diffused. But little is found near rivers. It is not found, according to 

 M. Bory de St. Vincent, at less than 100 feet ; but the small forests 

 which it forms descend to a depth of 650 feet. 



Since the sixteenth century, when the merchants of Marseilles began 

 to fish for coral in the Gulf of Stora, this industry has been nurtured by 

 the French Government, and with varied success to the profit of the 

 trade and commerce of Marseilles. 



In 1750, the French company which prosecuted this fishery employed 

 25 boats, which brought in annually from 30 to 35,000 kilogrammes of 

 coral of the value of more than 1,000,000 francs. This coral was 

 re-sold by the manufacturers of Marseilles at the price of five millions, 

 thus bringing in a profit of four million francs to the workers. The 

 suppression of the exclusive privilege of the fishery in 1791 led to the 

 decline of the fishing for and manufacture of coral in France, which 

 passed into the hands of foreigners. 



Naples, Genoa, and Leghorn, took up the advantages which France 

 had enjoyed, and for the last quarter of a century it is chiefly these 

 foreign boats which have pursued the coral-fishery on the Algerian 

 coast. Notwithstanding all the efforts made by France to recover the 

 principal share of this profitable pursuit, she has not succeeded. Ac- 

 cording to an official document, the reasons assigned for this ill-success 

 are as follows : — The fishery is not unattended with hardship and peril, 

 and the number of seamen is seldom equal to the ordinary wants of 

 commerce ; they also find more comfort and greater advantages in other 

 maritime operations. 



The Neapolitans, the Genoese, the Sardinians, and the Spaniards, 

 accustomed to .a more frugal diet, are content with a morsel of bread 

 and a clove of garlic the greater part of the time, fare which would not 

 satisfy the French fishermen. But this is not the sole reason of their 

 numerical superiority in the prosecution of the fishery. The extra cost 

 of the French outfit for the boats is another disadvantage under which 

 they labour, while the fluctuations of price, owing to changes in fashion, 

 gives it a less interest in their eyes. 



But notwithstanding the favours accorded to French boats under the 

 ordinance of the 31st of March, 1832, and the efforts of the Adminis- 

 tration to nationalise this industry, the Genoese, Sardinian, and Nea- 

 politan fishermen are still almost exclusively in possession of the 

 coral fishery. The number of French boats employed continues very 

 limited. The ordinance of the 9th Nov., 1844, fixed the annual sum 

 payable to the State by foreign boats at 800 francs, without distinction 

 of season. The French boats are free from any payment. 



