66 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



Jackson. Dr. Oarrutbers conveyed our formal addresses to the 

 University and the Academy of Sciences, and also a copy of our 

 Linnean Gold Medal, specially struck for the occasion and pre- 

 sented to the University in which Linnaeus was a professor. 



These more formal celebrations of the ainiiversary are now past ; 

 and, moreover, it is recognized that our very existence in this 

 Society is in honour of Linnseus, and that all our corporate life 

 and work may be said to be devoted to the exposition and the 

 further advancement of the undying labours of the founder of the 

 sciences of Descriptive Botany and Zoology. Cousequently, it has 

 been decided by our Council that the present further commemo- 

 ration of this noteworthy year in the annals of our own and all 

 kindred societies should take the informal shape of a social 

 gathering, and that — apart from this brief statement, which I have 

 been requested to make — our time together this evening should 

 be devoted to profitable conversation, to the inspection of the 

 many Linnean and other scientific exhibits upstairs, and to the 

 short demonstrations which will be given from time to time in 

 this Meeting Eoom ; it being understood that all that we do, and 

 our very presence here this evening, is in honour of Linnaeus and in 

 commemoration of the foundations he laid in the Sciences we 

 love. 



The President then proceeded to show some illustrations of the 

 celebrated Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon — probably the most important, 

 the most famous, and the most ancient of pearl fisheries in the 

 world. Photographic slides were exhibited showing the location 

 of the Pearl Pisheries in the Gulf of Manaar, the characteristic 

 scenery of the coasts, and the manner in which a temporary town 

 of perhaps 40,000 inhabitants and miles of streets was run up in 

 a few days at Marichchukadde, near the mouth of the Modragam 

 river. At the conclusion of the fishery this great population melts 

 away again in a few hours, and the site of " Pearl towai " becomes 

 once more a solitary sandy waste. 



The vessels composing the fishing fleet were then described and 

 illustrated, and the divers and their habits and mode of life were 

 shown. These men are mainly Indians from the Adam's Bridge 

 district and Arabs from the Persian Gulf. No diving suits or 

 mechanical appliances are used, and the divers rarely stay down 

 more than a minute and a half and do not dive in water deeper 

 than about 9 fathoms. 



The pearl-oysters {Margaritifera vulgaris) were then shown, and 

 their life-history from the egg to the adult was briefly traced. 

 The enormous numbers of the "spat" and the possibihties of 

 wholesale destruction at various stages by organic enemies and 

 inorganic agencies was shown to afford man an opportunity of 

 averting calamity to the fisheries by transplanting, cultching, and 

 other measures of artificial cultivation. 



The structure of Mother-of-pearl and of the Orient pearl was 

 illustrated ; and the question of pearl-production, and its relation 



