THE OCEAN AS A FIELD—THE VARIOUS CROPS IT YIELDS—THE SPONGE—TRANSPLANTING SPONGES—CORAL FISHING—THE DISCOVERY OF THE NATURE OF CORAL—ITS RECEPTION BY NATURALISTS—OYSTER FISHERY—THE OYSTER A SOCIAL ANIMAL—THE YOUNG OYSTER—OYSTER CULTURE—DREDGING FOR OYSTERS—THE AMERICAN OYSTER FISHERY—PEARL OYSTERS—PEARL FISHERIES—THEIR VALUE—SHARK FISHING—CUTTLE FISHING.
Though the ocean may appear to be a barren waste of water to the farmer, it has by no means this aspect to the fisherman. To him it is the field in which he labors, and the crops he gathers from it are as diversified in character, and as important for satisfying the demands of the world, as those which the farmer raises. And further than this, the labors of the fisherman have helped to increase our knowledge of the composition and character of the sea, of the habits of the organized beings found in it, as the labors of the farmer have done the same thing for the soil, and the products which it bears.
In considering the various fisheries of the ocean, naturally that of the sponge, as one of the lowest forms of animal life, comes first in order. Science is hardly yet decided in its views concerning the organization and development of these obscure and complex creatures, and despite the investigations of modern naturalists, their position in the scale of animal life is still problematical, and their internal organization is still known only imperfectly. Dr. Bowerbank in his work on British Sponges, published in 1866, describes nearly 200 species, but this number by no means includes them all. They are of all sizes, and of all possible diversity of shape. At present the chief sponge fishing is carried on in the Grecian Archipelago and on the coast of Syria. The boat's crew consists of four or five men who, between June and October, seek the sponges under the cliffs and ledges of the rocks. Those obtained in shallow waters are considered inferior; the best are obtained at a depth ranging from twenty to thirty fathoms. The poorer sponges are taken from the shallow waters with harpoons, but are injured by this method of capture. The others are taken by hand. The diver descends to the bottom, and can stay there from a minute to a minute and a half, and carefully detaches the sponges from the rocks with a knife.
SPONGE FISHING.
Sponge fishing is also carried on in other parts of the Mediterranean, but without any foresight, so that the sponges will, in time, be exhausted. To guard against this contingency, it has been proposed to transplant and acclimatize the sponges upon the coast of France and Algeria, where the composition of the water is the same as that upon the coast of Syria, and where the difference of temperature would prove no impediment to their flourishing. In fact, the farther north the sponges grow, the finer and compacter are their tissue. By use of a submarine boat, supplied with air by a force-pump, it was proposed to collect such specimens, as were best suited for the purpose, removing the rocks with them; and also to collect the young sponges, during the months of April and May, shortly after they have commenced their independent existence, and before they have anchored themselves to some permanent abode, and transport them to a favorable locality. The French Acclimatization Society, in 1862, gave a commission to M. Lamiral, who had passed years in the study of sponges, and who has published an excellent work upon their habits, to collect the germs, and transplant them to the coast of France. Though up to this time, the attempts which have been made to do this have not met with perfect success, yet the results already gained, show that with further experience, perseverance will attain its desired end.
Sponges are also fished for in the Red Sea. On the Bahama Banks, and in the Gulf of Mexico, sponges are taken by Mexicans, Spaniards, and Americans, in shallow water. A mast is sunk at the side of the boat, and the diver descends this; gathering the sponges found near the bottom of the pole.
Next in order of fishing in deep sea, comes coral fishing. The ancients believed that the coral was a plant, but it is now known that the coral is constructed by a family of polyps living together, and constituting a polypidom. It abounds in the waters of the Mediterranean where upon rocky beds like a submarine forest, the red coral, the most brilliant and celebrated of all coral, grows at various depths, rarely less than five fathoms, or more than one hundred. Each polypidom resembles a red leafless shrub, bearing delicate little star-shaped white flowers. The branches and trunk of this little tree, are the parts common to the family, the flowers are the individual polyps. The branches show a soft, reticulated crust, or bark, full of small holes, which are the cells of the polyps and they are permeated by a milky juice. Beneath the crust is the coral, hard as marble, and remarkable for its striped surface, its red color, and the fine polish it will take. The fishing is chiefly carried on by sailors from Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples, and is a very laborious occupation. The barks engaged in it are small, ranging from ten to fifteen tons. The coral is fished with an apparatus called an engine, consisting of cross bars of wood tied and bolted together at the centre. Below this is a large stone with nets or bags attached. Each engine has a number of these nets, and when let down into the sea, they spread out. The coral grows on the tops of the rocks, and the object is to scrape it off into these bags. By experience, the fishermen come to learn the favorable places for capturing the coral. When such a spot is reached, the engine is thrown overboard, and as soon as it reaches the bottom, the speed of the vessel is slackened, and the capstan, for hauling it up is manned. In this way the engine is dragged over the bottom, becomes entangled with the rocks, and the nets catch the coral. Sometimes rocks of large size are brought on board.