1903.] Professor W. A. Herrhnnn on Pearl Fisheries. 279 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 



Friday, March 27, 1903. 



George Matthey, Esq., F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. 



Professor W. A. Herdman, D.Sc. F.R.S. 



The Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon. 



The celebrated pearl " oysters " of Ceylon are found mainly in cer- 

 tain parts of the wide shallow plateau which occupies the upper end 

 of the Gulf of Manaar, off the north-west coast of the island and 

 south of Adam's Bridge. 



The animal (Margaritifera vulgaris, Schum. = Avicula fucata, 

 Gould) is not a true oyster, but belongs to the family Aviculidae, 

 and is therefore more nearly related to the mussels {Mytilus) than 

 to the oysters (Ostreea) of our seas. 



The fisheries are of very great antiquity. They are referred to 

 by various Classical authors, and Pliny speaks of the pearls from 

 Taprobane (Ceylon) as "by far the best in the world." Cleopacra 

 is said to have obtained pearls from Aripu, a small village on the 

 Gulf of Manaar, which is still the centre of the pearl industry. 

 Coming to more recent times, but still some centuries back, we have 

 records of fisheries under the Singhalese kings of Kandy, and sub- 

 sequently under the successive European rulers — the Portuguese 

 being in possession from about 1505 to about 1655, the Dutch from 

 that time to about 1795, and the English from the end of the 

 eighteenth century onwards. A notable feature of these fisheries 

 under all administrations has been their uncertainty. 



The Dutch records show that there were no fisheries between 

 1732 and 1746, and again between 1768 and 1796. During our own 

 time the supply failed in 1820 to 1828, in 1837 to 1854, in 1864 

 and several succeeding years, and finally after five successful fisheries 

 in 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890 and 1891 there has been no return for the 

 last decade. Many reasons, some fanciful, others with more or less 

 basis of truth, have been given from time to time for these recurring 

 failures of the fishery ; and several investigations, such as that of 

 Dr. Kelaart (who unfortunately died before his work was completed) 

 in 1857 to 1859, and that of Mr. Holdsworth in 1865 to 1869, have 

 been undertaken without much practical result so far. 



In September 1901, Mr. Chamberlain asked me to examine the re- 

 cords and report to him on the matter, and in the following spring I 

 was invited by the Government to go to Ceylon with a scientific assis- 

 tant, and undertake any investigation into the condition of the banks 

 that m ght be considered necessary. I arrived at Colombo in January 

 Vol. XVII. (No. 97.) u 



