The coral was long considered a sea‐plant, but what was once taken for a flower is, in fact, a kind of polyp, which lives in colonies. A branch of living coral is an aggregation of animals united among themselves by a common tissue, yet seemingly enjoying a separate existence. The branch undoubtedly owes its origin to an egg, and consists of two distinct parts—the one hard, brittle, and stony; the other external, and soft and fleshy. The latter is a united family of polyps, animals having feelers or tentacles, and very sensitive, and further, possessing generative or budding powers. The subject is, however, of a nature too scientific to be fully treated here. The Greeks called it a “daughter of the sea,” and as in so many other things, they were right. The fisheries are principally confined to the Mediterranean, and the fishing is conducted mainly by sailors from Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples. It is so fatiguing that it is a common saying in Italy that a sailor obliged to go to the coral fishery must either be a thief or an assassin. The saying conveys a good idea enough of the occupation. The best men can only earn four to six hundred francs (£16 to £24) in the season of six months. They work eighteen hours per diem, and are allowed very little more rations than unlimited biscuit and water. “The barques sent to the fishing range from six to fifteen tons; they are strong, and well adapted for the labour; their rig is a great lateen sail and a jib or staysail. The stern is reserved for the capstan, the fishers, and the crew; the fore part of the vessel is reserved for the requirements of the padrone or master. “The lines, wood, and irons employed in the coral fisheries are called the engine; it consists of a cross of wood formed of two bars strongly lashed or bolted together at their centre; below this a great stone is attached, which bears the lines, arranged in the form of a sac. These lines have great meshes, loosely knotted together, resembling the well‐known swab. [Illustration: CORAL FISHING.] “The apparatus carries thirty of these sacs, which are intended to grapple all they come in contact with at the bottom of the sea. They are spread out in all directions by the movement of the boat. The coral is known to attach itself to the summit of a rock, and to develop itself, forming banks there, and it is to these rocks that the swab attaches itself so as to tear up the precious harvest. Experience, which in time becomes almost intuitive, guides the Italian fisher in discovering the coral banks....