THE PEARL OYSTER. 931 



into a boat, and fishing was stopped for that day. The 

 inspector sent for the shark charmer, who stated with the 

 greatest effrontery that there were some spirits adverse to 

 the powers he possessed ; and that during the brief time of 

 his taking a little refreshment one of them had broken his 

 charm, and unclosed the jaws of the shark." {Adventures 

 of an Oyster.} 



The owners of the boats wait and superintend the 

 landing of the precious cargoes, the oysters being carried 

 to shore, and heaped in pits, which are lined with mats, to 

 prevent them coming in contact with the earth itself, or 

 else they are laid in piles on mats of esparto grass, or they 

 are deposited in spaces of ground called coultos, enclosed 

 with poles and transverse pieces of bamboo, but open to 

 the air. 



In about ten days the oysters become thoroughly 

 decomposed, the smell in the neighbourhood of the putre- 

 fying heaps being said to be almost unbearable by a 

 stranger unaccustomed to the scene, yet the health of the 

 precarious but crowded population gathered there is in 

 nowavs affected. 



j 



"During two years that I did duty at the fishery," says 

 M. de No6, " I never saw a soldier of my regiment sick ; 

 Europeans and Sepoys all enjoyed good health ;" and it 

 has been remarked, on other authority, that in this climate, 

 where the effects of vegetable decomposition are so fatal 

 and so rapid, those of animal decomposition are almost 

 innocuous. 



The object of thus allowing the molluscs to decompose 

 is that of insuring their being easily opened and examined 

 in the soft putrefying state, without fear of injuring the 

 concretions they may contain ; for they could not be 



opened while alive without great force and more trouble : 



EE 2 



