24 CEYLON PEARL OYSTER REPORT. 



Mar., 1805. Dead shells. 



Oct., 1809. Young oysters, 2 years old. 



Nov., 1810. Abundant oysters, 1^ to 3 years. 



,, 1811. Oysters present. 

 Mar., 1813. 2 to 3 years old. 

 Nov., 1815. 6 and 6i years old to be fished. 

 ,, 1816. ,, all dead no fishery. 

 ,, 1820. ,, 4 years old. 

 1821. dead. 

 Oct., 1828. Small patch of good oysters. 

 Mar., 1832. Oysters present. 



1833. Fishery (yielded 320,896 rupees). 

 1835. (16,000,000 oysters yielded 403,460 rupees). 

 1836. (3,000,000 40,158 



,, 1870. Two patches of young oysters. 



1871. No oysters. 

 1876.- 



,, 1886. Two small patches, 3 to 6 months old. 

 Nov., 1887. Small patch of oysters about 2 years old. 

 Mar., 1893. No oysters. 

 1899. 



1901. On south-west 7,000,000 oysters 1 to 2 years old. 

 ,, 1902. Many oysters about 3 years old. 



1903. Fishery (1,500,000 oysters yielded 32,861 rupees). 

 ,, 1904. Oysters left last year now gone. 



This bank, as might be expected from a northerly extension of the North-east 

 Cheval, although of small size is quite a profitable and reliable paar. It has yielded 

 5 fisheries that are recorded and one at least, that of 1815-1816, has evidently 

 been lost through the oysters being left too long unfished. 



Those of 1820, again, should probably have been fished that year. During the 

 100 years of our record we have evidence of at least 8 deposits of spat on this bank, 

 but there may well have been more, as this little paar did not until recently receive 

 such close attention as its gigantic neighbour, the Cheval. The patch of hard bottom 

 forming the paar appears to vary considerably in extent and shape from time to time, 

 as the diagram (fig. 15) shows. The variations are, no doubt, due to movements of 

 the sand, and any losses of oysters that have occurred are probably due to that cause 

 or to the incursions of large Rays (Trygonidte). In March, 1902, we found 3-year- 

 old oysters in quantities which Captain Donnan estimated at over 21,000,000. 



In November, 1902, the fishable oysters were estimated at 8,000,000, and in 

 February, 1903, Captain Legge put the figure at a little under 7,000,000. 



