8 CEYLON PEARL OYSTER REPORT. 



receives and passes on the parasite which leads to the production of pearls in others. 

 The loss of some individuals is in that case a toll that we very willingly pay, and no 

 one would advocate the extermination of that particular enemy. 



In fact, while wholly at the mercy of its inanimate surroundings, such as storms 

 and sand, the pearl oyster can probably cope under most circumstances with its 

 animate environment on the paars, if not too recklessly decimated at the fisheries, 

 and if not exposed to some exceptional combination of adverse influences. Man has 

 thus afforded to him the opportunity of intervening. Although he cannot control 

 the monsoon or build a sea-wall around the " paar," yet without any violent attempt 

 to disturb the balance of Nature, or remove wholly the influence of any particular 

 enemy, he can compensate to some extent for the damage he himself does, and he can 

 help the oyster population to withstand the attacks of normal enemies and prevent 

 complete destruction under abnormal combinations. This he can do by giving some 

 attention to the breeding stock, by having a more intimate knowledge of the exact 

 distribution of the oysters at all ages on the ground, by attending to the dissemina- 

 tion and location of " spat," by thinning out in parts where there is overcrowding, or 

 where young are mixed with old, and by transplanting, when required, the growing 

 young from unsuitable ground, where from experience it is known they cannot arrive 

 at maturity, to more sheltered and reliable " paars." 



It is clear that, in considering the conditions of existence of the oyster and the 

 vicissitudes of the pearl banks, we have to deal with great natural influences which 

 cannot be wholly removed, though they may to some extent be avoided and compen- 

 sated for ; and that, consequently, it is necessary to introduce large measures of 

 regulation and cultivation in order to increase the adult population on the ground, 

 have the more reliable " paars" provided more fully with successive broods of young 

 oysters by transplantation, and so give greater constancy to the supply and remove 

 the disappointing fluctuations in the fishery. 



We have shown conclusively in our work the ease with which young pearl oysters 

 can be dredged up in quantity and transported to considerable distances, and we can 

 also demonstrate by our figures the advantages derived by transplantation from 

 overcrowded and unhealthy localities to better conditions. The young are present in 

 abundance, and they are probably sacrificed in millions every year. When we 

 examined the Periya Paar in March, 1902, we estimated the number of young pearl 

 oysters on the ground at not less than a hundred thousand millions ; when 

 Mr. Hornell returned in November they were all gone. With such numbers the 

 inshore paars could be kept continuously supplied with young oysters transplanted 

 from their precarious position on the more exposed grounds out at sea. 



There is no reason for any despondency in regard to the future of the pearl 

 fisheries, if they are treated scientifically. The adult oysters are plentiful on some 

 of the paars and seem for the most part healthy and vigorous ; while young oysters 

 in their first year, and masses of minute spat just deposited, are very abundant in 

 many places. The material exists, ready for man's operations. 



