542 



THE TROPICAL AGK2C0LTUKIST. [Feb. 



188& 



have had a trying year witli short crops from 

 drought, low prices for supar, mortaHty among 

 their working stock, and scarcity of labor from the 

 exodus to Colon. The high prices obtained for 

 flavored rums have helped many estates to pull 

 through and a few must have made fair profits, 

 as high as 7s per gallon having been obtained 

 for some rums suitable for the German market. 

 Penkeepers who depend chiefly on the planters to 

 buy their stock have sufl'ered eipially with the 

 planters ; long and protracted drought in some 

 districts with lessened demand through so many 

 estates being thrown up, and the remaining 

 estates supplying their needs from their herds of 

 broken stock instead of buying young stock from 

 pens have lowcr»d prices. Pimento, which with 

 logwood is the penkeepers' great stand-by, has been 

 almost a complete failure through the drought, 

 and logwood roots after making a great stir for 

 a time on the south side have ceased to be renmner- 

 ative to get out. The banana, orange and pine- 

 apple trade from Montego Bay has largely increased 

 during the last two years, but the low prices ob- 

 tained for fruit do not encourage any one to 

 enter largely on the cultivation. The business is 

 almost entirely in the hands of the negro settlers 

 who supply Messrs. J. B. Kerr & Co. with fruit 

 for their steamers which run between Montego Bay 

 and New York. The bananas in this district are 

 all grown by settlers around their Iiouses, any 

 attempt at extensive cultivation being checked by 

 thieves, who gather one's bananas with the greatest 

 regularity. The oranges are almost entirely grown 

 on the pens : they thrive best in the rocky pastures, 

 but they more often result in a loss through one's 

 cattle getting choked, than in any profit that 

 can be derived from selling them on the trees at 

 5s (jd to 5s a thousand. Coconuts have gone down 

 in value lower than they have ever been, realizing 

 only 40s per thousand instead of 70s to 80s, which 

 they fetched two years ago. We greatly need a 

 magazine like the Tropical Ayriciiltiirist in Jamaica, 

 where we have no planting paper, and I have 

 advised some of my sugar planting friends to be- 

 come subscribers to your magazine." 



PEABL.S AND PEARL FISHERIES. 



AN INTEBvrEW WITH Mli. STHEETi:!!. 



[J reprcsciitatinn of <i PeurUn;) Stntioit appeared in 

 the Fall Mall Uhtstrated Supplement.] 



One or two curious facts came out in the recent 

 correspondence in the papers respecting the pearl- 

 ing grounds in the Southern Seas — a subject surely 

 of universal interest. Mr. Streeter, the famous 

 pearl merchant, was himself one of the corre- 

 spondents, and we are indebted to him for giving 

 to our representative the following account of his 

 fisheries in Southern waters : — 



There are not many visible signs of jewels in 

 Mr. Streeter's handsome rooms, which command 

 a fine view of Holborn. The pearl mei'chanfs first 

 necessity, after the pearl, is light, for by nature's 

 light only can a pearl be judged. The tapestry 

 curtains ward olf intruding draughts, and their heavy 

 folds partition off the room when di\ ision is necess- 

 ary. But the eye of the stranger falls first on 

 the safe, with its doors thro\vn open, like an angel's 

 wings. There the eye wanders to the tables clothed 

 in black, to the burnished scales in their covers 

 of glass, to the pearl pliers which lie in a tray 

 on the table, to the cases ranged against the wall. 

 At a table near the window sat Mr. Strecler, 

 gazing with rapture on a lovely pink pearl. After 

 we had had some conversation he said he would 



show me some of the "riches of the earth." 

 and bade me plunge my hands into bags full of 

 rubies, bags full of sapphires and emeralds. He 

 opened mysterious drawers, which shut with a 

 sharp spring, and produced shabby cases holding 

 gems of priceless value. Hero are strings of 

 iridescent pearls gleaming with prismatic hues. 

 Here dazzHng diamonds, shooting forth brilliant 

 rays, tliere a ruby worth thousancls, here a cat's- 

 eyo fit for a monarch's finger ^diamonds, rubies 

 pearls, and emeralds, sapphires, and cat's-eyes, 

 there they lay before me. But only for a minute. 

 For these things are not exposed. 



GEMS AND GEWGAWS. 



" The pearl is the most aristocratic jewel. No 

 one but the rich aristocrat can afford to own it. 

 To be inestimable in its value a pearl should 

 be perfectly round like a marble, pure, and spot- 

 less. A black pearl is a rarity, and from a 

 thousand shells you might obtain one. I suppose 

 one of the Rothschild's has the finest collection 

 of pearls in tlie world. Lord Tweedraouth comes 

 second, and Lord Bristol is a close third. 

 The fashion in jewels alters rapidly, though pearls 

 always take the first rank. At present the emerald 

 is the fashionable jewel, why, I cannot say ; 

 then come rubies and sapphires ; the diamond is 

 but a common gewgaw. Everyone can buy dia- 

 monds nowadays. I remember'in 1870 diamonds 

 cost £14 a carat. The price has fallen to £5, 

 the result of too great a supply. But a reaUy 

 magnificent jewel, no matter whether pear! or dia- 

 mond, always retains its value, and a collector, 

 if he chooses to invest large sums in the pur- 

 chase of the best article, can always sell at a 

 profit. One of the greatest difficulties in dealing 

 with diamonds is the operation of cutting, which 

 needs an apprenticeship of a lifetime to make an ex- 

 pert. There are a few good cutters in the world, 

 and there is actually only one man who can drill a 

 diamond." 



IN SOUTHERN SEAS. 



Mr. streeter and his son, Mr. George Streeter, 

 who, although young, has himself been on the 

 pearling grounds, visited New Guinea, and ex-. 

 p ored Cape York. He gave an account of tlie 

 Streeter pearl fleet which is at present at worl; on the 

 north-west coast of /Australia. The fleet numbers 

 thirteen decked boats, including a couple of 150 ton 

 schooners. " Our boats have long been pearl prospect- 

 ing in North .Australian water.s, and only recently they 

 visited the deeply indented shores of southern 

 New Guinea. There they discovered shells in 

 abundance, but the unhealthiuess of the climate 

 wrought sad havoc among the men, who died of 

 a disease peculiar to these Southern waters. The 

 disease is a sort of heart complaint, known as 

 bei-i-beri. So we withdrew the boats from such 

 dangerous regions. I am most proud of the organ- 

 ization of my pearling fleet, but the expense has 

 been enormous. Perhaps I have s))cnt .t'10,000 up 

 to now, and I ani just beginning ' to secure a 

 return. Do not imagine that pearl fishing is hoh- 

 day work. It is like any other commercial enter- 

 prise, and needs steady application, great iudustry, 

 untiring efforts, and readiness of invention to reap 

 any substantial reward. Singapore is nominally 

 our headquarters, and (he operations are under 

 the control of three Europeans, I call them ' my 

 boys ;' one is my son, another is Mr. Haynes, anci 

 third is Mr. Chippendale. They are the white 

 bosses, and my most trusted and devoted servants. 

 They have under their command about a hundred 

 and fifty Kanakas and Malays, of whom thirty or 

 /orty are divers. For each one of these I gave 



