06 CEYLON PEARL OYSTER REPORT. 



entirely confirmed our own opinion, formed from what we saw, that there is no spot 

 in the neighbourhood of Manaar suitable for pearl-oyster work. The North channel 

 we found is as unsatisfactory as the South, and the great creek immediately to the 

 north-east of the Fort is quite shallow and muddy. Not even cockle-like shell-fish 

 can be got to live there, and in fact dead shells have to be imported from Aripu for 

 calcining to make the " chunam " for betel-chewing. Pyrazus palustris is most 

 abundant in these muddy shallows. Turtle are also plentiful round Manaar and are 

 caught by the harpoon, which is a short four-sided iron spike sharpened at one end 

 and having a ring on one side to which a long cord is attached. The spike is loosely 

 " fastened to the end of a pole, from which it readily becomes detached when implanted 

 in the plates of a turtle's back, leaving the animal anchored by the long cord. 

 Dugong are also taken here, they feed upon the Zostera which is plentiful all around. 



On March 4th we were back again with Captain Donnan and his inspection boats 

 on the north end of the East Cheval, where at 7 a.m. the sea-temperature was 79 F. 

 and specific gravity 1 "023. The forenoon was spent examining with the divers, in 

 the " Serendib," the middle part of the East Cheval and the area to the west of it, 

 on which we found more oysters both large and small than within the usually 

 recognised limits of the paar itself. In three dives on this western part the oysters 

 came up attached to coral blocks, in the fourth they were in clumps lying on sand ; 

 they averaged 15 oysters to a dive. 



In the afternoon we dredged from the " Lady Havelock " in the same region and 

 northwards to the Periya Paar Kerrai and Vankali Paar ; and obtained striking 

 proof, as on many other occasions, of the superiority of dredging over diving as a 

 method of obtaining the pearl oysters. The first haul, during which the dredge was 

 only off the deck 10 minutes, brought up 65 large oysters along with other organisms. 

 The first few hauls were practically upon Station XLVIIL, dredged on February 27th, 

 and the more abundant animals obtained* were the same as before (see p. 61) ; while 

 the remaining hauls further north may be divided into two sets, those about Periya 

 Paar Kerrai (Station L.) and those of Vankali Paar (Station LI.). 



STATION L. On Periya Paar Kerrai and to the north ; depth 7\ fathoms ; bottom 

 sand and dead shells ; dredged. 

 Various common Corals ; 

 Serpula actinoceros ; 



Mara rubromaculata and other Amphipods ; 

 Pearl oysters, mainly small, Oscanius sp. ; 

 Branchiostoma lanceolatum and variety belcheri (large and plentiful). 



* It will of course be recognised by naturalists that many other minute or obscure forms (Amphipods, 

 Hydroids, Polyzoa, &c.) were obtained at nearly all these hauls; and these will be treated of in the 

 special reports that follow. 



