HTSTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL PEARL HANKS. 33 



Mar., 1815. Small fishery on Karkopanni (yielded 5842 rupees). 



Dec, 1820. On the Jokkenpiddi, a few oysters 2 years old. On the Karugugalie 



Paar a large bed of oysters 1 to 1|- years old. 

 April, 1871. No oysters. 



,, 1875. On Jokkenpiddi, a small patch. On Chilaw Paar, a large bed 



6 months old. 

 ,, 1876. Still some oysters ; doubtful if they are enough for fishery. 

 Nov., 1876 On Chilaw Paar, 500,000 oysters 2 years old. On Jokkenpiddi, 



250,000, 3 years old. 

 April, 1878. On the south part of the Jokkenpiddi Paar there is a bed of oysters 



of " Kottapakku" variety, 4 years old. The others seen on Jokkenpiddi 



in 1876 are nearly all gone. Those on the Chilaw Paar are nearly all gone. 

 Nov., 1878. Oysters on Jokkenpiddi all gone. 



April, 1882. On Chilaw and Karkopanni, beds of 2-year-old oysters. 

 ,, 1883. Last year's oysters still exist and thrive. 

 ,, 1884. Oysters dying off fast. Small fishery held on Chilaw Paar (yielded 



17,153 rupees). 

 Nov., 1884. Small fishery off Chilaw, and on Karkopanni. 

 April, 1885. Three beds of young oysters 6 months old. 

 Dec., 1888. Only one patch found in 1885 remains; oysters very few and 



scattered. 

 Nov., 1889. Not inspected. 

 April, 1899. No oysters. 

 Mar., 1901. 

 April, 1902. Chilaw Paar had a bed of young oysters, 6 to 9 months old, covering 



about 1,120,000 square yards. Jokkenpiddi had many young oysters 



3 months old. 

 Mar., 1903. Not inspected. 

 Mar., 1904. Oysters over 2 years old still present. 



From the early Sinhalese records it seems probable that the banks off Chilaw 

 were much more productive in ancient times than they have been during the last 

 century. Chilaw seems, in fact, to have been formerly as important a fishery centre 

 as Chilavaturai. The Sinhalese poem, ' Kovul Sandesaya,' written about the middle 

 of the fifteenth century, refers to the pearl-lined shore of Chilaw in such a manner as 

 to suggest that this locality was the centre of the Southern, or Sinhalese, pearl 

 fisheries. In Portuguese and Dutch times its fame seems to have been eclipsed by 

 that cf the more northerly banks worked from the settlement at Manaar ; but as the 

 Chilaw region is still productive, and yielded at least three fisheries in the nineteenth 

 century, it is possible that beds of oysters may have remained undiscovered and 

 unfished. The record shows great gaps from 1820 to 1871 and again from 1888 to 



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