MOLLUSCA. 65 
sets out with the land-breeze, reaching the banks in time to commence 
fishing at sunrise, and starting on its return with the sea-breeze about 
noon. A gun is fired when the fleet is seen from the shore, to acquaint the 
owners with the fact. The shells are placed upon mats in pits, and buried 
until the animal is rotted and become dry, when the shells are easily opened 
and the pearls readily found. 
Each boat has twenty men and a pilot. Of these ten are divers and ten 
boatmen, who row and assist the divers. Five dive at a time, and when 
these come up the other five go down, which gives them time to recover 
for each successive dive. The boat has five stones, of which each diver 
takes one to accelerate his descent, and this is attached to a distinct rope, 
to be drawn up at leisure. These men use their toes with great facility in 
picking up small objects from the ground, and when one of them is ready to 
descend he catches the rope which holds the stone with the toes of the right 
foot, his network bag with those of the left, and the rope which is to draw 
him up with his right hand, the other hand being employed to close his 
nostrils. When he reaches the bottom the bag is hung round his neck, and 
he commences filling it as rapidly as possible, returning in the course of 
about two minutes, first making a signal with the rope in his right hand. A 
diver may make forty or fifty plunges in a day, and bring up one hundred 
shells each time. This takes place in water from thirty to fifty feet deep ; 
and as the pressure must diminish the volume of air in the lungs, the water 
must enter the nostrils to a greater or less distance. In consequence of 
this, when the diver emerges, water, and often blood, are discharged from 
the mouth, nostrils, and ears. Captain Percival states further, that there 
are divers who can remain under water four or five, and in one case six 
minutes. Some oiled their bodies and stuffed their ears and nostrils before 
descending, but this practice was not general. 
The Greek divers were celebrated in ancient times, and they seem to 
have preserved their skill up to the present day. Like those of the Indian 
seas, they are taught to dive from childhood. Dr. Lefévre, a French navy 
surgeon, gives an interesting account of them, having been present when 
they were employed in recovering property from the vessels sunk at the 
battle of Navarino. The water was from one hundred to one hundred and 
twenty feet deep, and yet the divers not only reached the outside of the 
vessels, tearing off the copper, &c., but they entered the hold and brought 
out small objects, such as pistols, Turkish pipes, &c. When ready to 
descend, the Greeks seat themselves upon the edge of the boat, with their 
elbows upon their knees, and breathe rapidly with short inspirations, making 
the sign of the cross at intervals. Finally, they take a deep inspiration, 
and plunge headforemost, having a small rope attached to the thumb of the 
right hand, by which they may be drawn up when they dive deep. 
Dr. Lefévre, at three different times, carefully noted the time that the — 
divers remained under water, and with the following result: Out of 
fourteen divers, the shortest period of submersion was fifty seconds ; two 
remained sixty-five; among the longest, two remained under ninety, 
one ninety-four, one ninety-five, and one ninety-eight, the average being 
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