22 CEYLON PEARL OYSTER REPORT. 



Pseudorhombus arsms, and some sea-snakes (see p. 65). 



On the second haul, which was 5 miles off Ooluwitti, at a depth of 8j fathoms, 

 the trawl came up with the heam broken, but contained some large masses of coral 

 and great quantities of young pearl oysters, measuring from \ to 1^ (mostly 1) inch 

 across. There is evidently at this point some hard bottom with coral growing on it, 

 and with many broken lumps of coral and rounded masses of nullipore, from the size 

 of a walnut to that of an orange constituting in fact a " paar " upon which young- 

 pearl oysters are living. The oysters we got are in their first season, and probably 

 ranged from one to three months in age. On the sand outside this hard patch we 

 brought up quantities of the filamentous green weed (Hypnea, Cladopliora, and 

 Gracilaria spp.), which we found afterwards on the south part of the Cheval Paar, 

 covered with the newly deposited "spat" of the pearl oyster. 



STATION III. Off Chilaw, 2j to 4 miles off shore; 9 to 14 fathoms; bottom coarse 

 sand and small corals; temperature of sea, 7775 F. ; specific gravity, r023 ; 

 one haul of fish-trawl and several of dredge. 



Large numbers of Heteropsammia michelini (with Gephyreans). 



Antedon sp., Pentaceros lincki and P. nodosus, Echinanthus rosacea*; 



Aspidosiphon corallicola, Pagurids and other crabs, Neptunus pelagicus ; 



Mitra militaris, Turbinella rapa (the sacred chank), Philine sp. ; 



Leptoelinum (2 species). 



We were now in the region of the Chilaw Paars, which consist of (1) one large 

 bank running north and south for about 9 miles, at a distance of from 7 to 8 miles 

 from shore, with a depth of 8 to 10 fathoms; (2) a group of two small paars lying 

 north-east of the large Chilaw Paar, at from 5 to 6 miles off-shore ; and (3) four 

 small paars nearer the shore opposite Karkopani, about 4 miles north of Chilaw. 

 These small paars are little hard patches, so-called " rock," on the general sandy 

 expanse. The rough bottom varies greatly in depth, the extremes on these inner 

 paars off Karkopani being 6 to 16 fathoms. Outside the outer large Chilaw Paar 

 the depth increases rapidly, and at one place, in less than a mile, we pass from 10 to 

 over 100 fathoms, at about 10 miles off shore. 



On February 2nd we first had several hauls of the dredge (the trawl could not 

 be used because of the very irregular hard bottom) amongst the inner paars off 

 Karkopani, then trawled in the more even sandy ground (9 to 11 fathoms) between 

 the inner and the outer paars, and finally had a couple of hauls of the dredge along 

 the outer edge of the outer paar at depths of from 10 fathoms outwards to about 30 

 (the dredge dropped off the bottom finally on the steep slope about the 100-fathom 

 line). I bave placed the dredging off Karkopani as Station IV., and have united 

 the trawling and dred<nne; further out as Station V. ; but Stations III., IV., and V., 

 explored on the two days spent off Chilaw, do not differ much and may be regarded 

 as one region. (Also Station LXIX., see chart of route and stations on p. 82.) 



