io6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



south smacks his lips on the juicy white and black kinds, 

 the less cultivated taste of those at the north is satisfied 

 with the red and more inferior varieties. 



It is minced down into a sort of thick soup by the 

 Chinese, who are extremely fond of it — and, indeed, with 

 some reason, as when cooked by a Chinaman who under- 

 stands the culinary art, the trepang is a capital dish, and 

 is rather a favourite among many of the Europeans at 

 Manila. 



This sea-slug, when dried, is an ugly looking, dirty-brown- 

 coloured substance, very hard and rigid, until softened by 

 water and a very lengthened process of cookery, after 

 which it becomes soft and mucilaginous. It is found in all 

 the sheltered harbours, where it gropes about the bottom, 

 and feeds upon weeds and mollusca. It is taken at low 

 water upon the shoals and mud-banks, over which the 

 fishermen wade knee-deep in water, dragging their boats 

 after them, and when the feet come in contact with a slug, 

 it is picked up and thrown into the boat. They occasion- 

 ally search in deeper water, where the fishermen avail 

 themselves of the services of the natives, who are expert in 

 diving and tracing out the slugs. 



The beche-de-mer, or trepang, is very abundant on the 

 coasts of New Caledonia, and constitutes the most im- 

 portant branch of commerce. The annual exports are 

 valued at ^^4000. The fishery has been carried on for a 

 long time on a neighbouring island, Erromango, which 

 serves as an entrepot, where vessels load with this article 

 and sandal-wood, v/hich they carry to Shanghai or Hong- 

 kong. The merchants here, however, prefer to ship to 

 Sydney, for which the trepang serves as a return cargo for 

 the vessels which bring merchandise. 



Although there is such a great number of varieties of 



