[x] CEYLON PEARL OYSTER REPORT. 



leaving the rest which seemed healthy, vigorous, and safe for a further year of growth 

 and pearl -production. 



On the other hand, the November valuation of the pearls from the samples collected 

 gave 24.65 Rs. per thousand to the South Cheval, as against 17.86 lis. for the South 

 Modragam which stood next. That fact was sure to cause pressure to be brought by 

 the pearl merchants upon the Government in favour of fishing the South Cheval ; 

 and it is, of course, impossible to avoid sympathising with the view that 40 million 

 oysters in the hand may be worth a good deal more than the chance of getting them 

 next year at an enhanced value. Our recommendation of last year accordingly ended 

 with these words : " On the other hand, there is, of course, always a certain risk in 

 leaving a fishable bed of oysters unfished, and, once the biological facts given above 

 have been stated, it lies with the Government to decide what risk can be run and 

 what course should be taken. If the 40,000,000 oysters on the South Cheval Paar, 

 or a considerable number of them, can be fished in addition to the 43,000,000 which 

 certainly ought to be secured first, there will, no doubt, be a large additional profit 

 now a present certainty in place of the prospect of a possibly much greater result 

 next year" (Part III., p. 46). 



The ' Gazette' of 16th December, 1904, gave notice, however, that the fishery, to 

 begin on 20th February, 1905, would include the South Cheval, the South-west 

 Cheval, the Mid-east Cheval, and the North and South Modragams. We can now 

 only hope that the decision of Government to fish the South Cheval in 1905, in 

 addition to the beds we had recommended, was a wise one, and that it has not too 

 seriously affected the fishery prospects of the next few years. It is to be feared that 

 the oysters fished from the South Cheval will scarcely maintain in pearl-yield the 

 reputation of their bank, and it can scarcely be doubted that, had they been left, and 

 had they survived, their value next year would have been much greater. 



The inspection in February, immediately before the fishery, showed fortunately 

 that no catastrophic change had taken place. The numbers for the South Cheval 

 and North Modragam were increased, those for the Mid-east Cheval and South 

 Modragam were reduced somewhat, while the very old oysters on the South-west 

 Cheval, as was to be expected, had continued to dwindle and were now so few and so 

 scattered as to be scarcely fishable. 



The most noteworthy observation in this inspection was, as Mr. Hornell states, 

 that on the south-east side of the South Modragam " the bed extended beyond the 

 limit of the ground inspected, and there was therefore a probability that the actual 

 numbers would prove considerably in excess of the estimate." I discuss this particular 

 bed of oysters further on (see below, p. xi.). 



The following statement of the numbers* estimated at the November and February 

 inspections, and the actual numbers fished from the beds, may be worth recording : 



* The numbers recorded by Mr. Lewis and by Mr. Hornell respectively in their reports differ some- 

 what in detail on account of the methods adopted in assigning the oysters to their banks. 



