'Collections of travels through Turky into Persia, and the East Indies. Giving an account of the present state of those countries, as also a full relation of the five years wars, between Aureng-Zebe and his brothers in their father's life time, about the succession. And a voyage made by the Great Mogul (Aureng-Zebe) with his Army from Dehli to Lahor, from Lahor to Bember, and from thence to the Kingdom of Kachemire, by the Mogols, call'd, the Paradise of the Indies. Together with a relation of the Kingdom of Japan and Tunkin, and of their particular manners and trade. To which is added a new description of the Grand Seignior's Seraglio, and also of all the Kingdoms that encompass the Euxine and Caspian Seas, being the travels of Monsieur TavernierBernier, and other great men.' [‎151] (476/1024)

Book II.
Travels in In d i
A.
151
CHAP. XXI.
Of Coraf and fellow Amber, and the places where it is found.
;*V.
C Oral, but little valu’d in Europe, is highly efteem’d in allthe three other parts
of the World; and there are three places where they filh for it upon the Coaft
of Sttrdigna., , That of Arguerrel is the faireft of all. The fecond place is call’d
Boza ; and the third is neer the Ifland of St. Peter. There are two other places
upon the Coaft: of France, the one neer the Baftion of France ; the other at Ta-
barijHe .There Is alfo another Fiihery upon the Coaft o{ Sicily, neer Trepano buES
the Coral is fmall, and ill-colour’d. There is another upon the Coaft of Cat alien*
neer Cape de Qmers ; where the Coral is large, and of an excellent colour butthe
branches are Ihort. There is a ninth Filhery in the Ifland of Majorque much like
that neer the Ifland of Corfic*. And thefe are all the places ifl CxcMediterraman-
Sea, where they filh for Coral; for there is none at all in the Ocean.
Becaufe that Coral grows under the hollow Rocks where the Sea is deep the
Filhers fix two fpars of wood a-crofs, faftening a great piece of Lead in the mid
dle to make it fink: after that they wind carelefly about the fpar good ftore of
tufted Hemp, and faften the wood to two Cords, one end whereof hangs at the
Poop, the other at the Prow of the Veflel. Then letting go the wood with the
ftream or current by the fides of the Rock, the Hemp twifts it felf among the
Coral, fo that fortietimes they ftand in need of five or fix Boats to pull up the
wood again : and if one of the Cables fliould chance to break with the ftrefs all
theRowers are in danger to be loft. Whilethey tear up the Coral thus by force,
there tumbles as much into the Sea as they fetch up .• and the bottom of the Sea
being generally very ouzy, the Coral will be eaten as our fruits are eaten by the
worms; fo that the fooner they get it out of the mud, the lefs it will be wa-
This puts me in mind, of one thing that I faw at Mar fellies in a Shop Where -
1 ^ n r P? ra ^ was a great piece of Coral, as big about as a man s filt,
winch becauie it was a little worm-eaten, was cut in two pieces. When it was
io cut, there was a worm that ftirr’d, and had life, and liv’d for fome months after
1 in g P IIC into the hole. For among fome branches of Coral there engen-
uers a Kind of fpongy-matter, like our honey-combs, where thefe worms lye like
Some think that Coral is foft in the Sea, though in truth it'be hard. But this
indeed is as true, that in certain months of the year you may fqueze out of the end
v ur n ii ha kind of milky-fubftance} and this perhaps may be a kind of feed
IT 0 " * in £> u P°n any thing that it firlt meets with in the Sea fas if it light upon
ead Skull, the blade of a Sword, ora Pomgranate) produces another branch of
, c i have feen a Pomgranate, and had it in my hand, that had fallen into
ne Sea, about which the Coral had twin’d at leaf! half a foot high.
1 7 ^ for Coral from the beginning of April to the end of July ; to which
lpr! p °^! :xlere are em P lo y’ d above 200 VelIels,fome years more, and fpme years
’ ar ? 1olldt a l° G g the River of Genoa, being very fwift. Their fails
Th^ ry r §eformorefwifcnerSjfo that there are no Gallies can reach them.
im'lp r f are , en men and a ever 7 Barque. They never filh above forty
-tromrel^ where they think there are Rocks, for fear of the Pyrats,
them r ch raake ad the Sail they can when they fee them, and eahly fcape
tnem through the mmblenefs of their Veflels. Cf '' 1
PeLip Ve0 ^f obfervationtoraakc concern ing Coral, in refpeft of the EaRern-
fo rnnrli * lC ^ a PP ome ^ m ake little account of Jewels or Pearls; valuing nothing
p ur r r as T a S ood grain of Coral, wherewith they pull the firing that fhuts their
the foil o' 1 as . we ] i a c fformerly in England. So that they llrive who fhall have
pYrfeq g rair ! or Coral hanging at the end of the Silk-firing that draws their
any fl,,’ r T his j ea ^ on a P^ ece Coral as big as an egg, fair and clean without
5 will produce what any man will ask in reafon for it. The PortHguefes
have
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