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PRECIOUS CORAL
Of
the great number of forms and species of coral known a single one
furnishes nearly all that is used in jewelry. This species is known by
the scientific name of Corallium rubrum, and belongs to the
family Gorgonidte of the group Alcyonaria. It is a branching coral,
shrub-like in its appearance, and grows to a height of a foot or more,
with stems an inch in diameter. If the living coral be examined it will
be found to consist of an outer fleshy or gelatinous portion inclosing
an inner, hard, calcareous skeleton. The outer portion is made up of
numbers of polyps, as the little coral animals are called, joined
together. The projecting polyps look in life like little warts over
the surface. Each has eight tentacles. The internal skeleton differs
from that of the majority of corals in being red in color. When the
coral animals die this internal skeleton is left, and by polishing it
the coral of jewelry is obtained. This kind of coral grows almost
exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea. The localities where it is most
abundant are the coasts of Algiers and Tunis, the western coasts of
Sardinia and Corsica, portions of the coast of Sicily, the western
coast of Italy, and a few localities on the southern coasts of France
and Spain. The coral forms banks at depths of from ninety to one
hundred feet, growing up from the bottom. That of the greater depths
has not as rich color as that nearer the surface, and does not grow to
so large a size. The work of dredging the coral is performed by fleets
of small vessels manned by crews of from six to twelve persons. Work is
carried on only in the summer months because of the stormy weather at
other seasons. The vessels are obliged to put out about six miles to
sea in order to reach the best fishing-grounds, and the work is of a
laborious and dangerous sort. The dredging is performed by means of an
appliance consisting of two heavy oaken sticks bound together in the
shape of a cross, from the ends of which hang ropes upon which are
fastened nets with meshes of different- sizes. On being sunk to the
bottom by means of a heavy stone, the nets of the dredge entangle
branches of coral, or they are attached by divers, and upon drawing to
the surface the coral can be picked off. The price obtained for the raw
coral is from four to seven dollars per pound, each vessel securing
from three hundred to four hundred pounds in a season.
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