THK I'KAKL FISI I Kill KS OF CEVLON. 4S7 



have o-()t tliroiiiih tlio work I did in the very limited liiiic Imd i( no! 

 hecii for Ml'. Iloriu'irs skilled assistjuice." 



Most of the pearl oyster banks or " paars " (nicaninj>- rock or any 

 form of hard hotlom, in distinction (o " maniil," which indicates loose 

 or soft sand) are in dei)ths of from 5 to 10 fatlioms and occupy the 

 wide shallow area of nearly 50 miles in length, and extending oppo- 

 -^ilc Ai'ipu to JO miles in breadth, which lies to the soutli of Adam's 

 liridge. On the westerp edge of this area there is a steej) declivity, 

 the sea dee])eiiing within a few miles from under 10 to over 100 fath- 

 oms, while out in the center of the southern part of the (iulf of 

 Manaar, to the west of the Cliilaw Pearl Banks, depths of between 

 1,000 and 2,000 fathoms are reached. On our two cruises in the 

 La<hj Ilai^clock we made a careful examination of the ground in sev- 

 eral places outside the banks to the westward, on the chance of finding 

 beds of adult oysters from Avhich possibly the spat deposited on the 

 inshore banks might be derixcd. No such beds outside the known 

 '*l)aars" were found, nor are they likely to exist. The bottom 

 deposits in the ocean al)ysses to the west of Ceylon are " globigerina 

 oo/e '" and "'green mud,'"' which are entirely different in nature and 

 origin from the coarse terrigenous sand, often cemented into masses, 

 and the Aarious calcareous neritic deposits, such as corals and nulli- 

 pores, found in the shallow watei- on the banks. The steepest part 

 of the slope from 10 or 20 fathoms down to about 100 fathoms or 

 more all along the westei'u coast seems in most places to hav^e a hard 

 bottom covered with Alcyonaria, sponges, deep-sea corals, and other 

 large encrusting and dendritic organisms. Neither on this slope nor 

 in the deep water beyond the cliff did we find any ground suitable 

 for the pearl oyster to live upon. 



Close to the top of the steep slope, about 20 miles from land, and 

 in dej)ths of from 8 to 10 fathoms, is situated the largest of the 

 '• ])aars,''' the celebrated Periya Paar, which has frequently figured 

 in the inspector's reports, has often given rise to hopes of great 

 fisheries, and has as often caused deej) disa])pointment to successive 

 Government officials. The Periya Paar runs for about 11 nautical 

 miles north and south, and varies from 1 to 2 miles in bredth, and 

 this — for a paar — large extent of ground becomes periodically cov- 

 ered with young oysters, Avhich, however, almost invariably dis- 

 appear before the next inspection. This paar has been called f)y 

 the natives the " mother paar " under the impression that the young 

 oysters that come and go in fabulous numbers migrate or are carried 

 inward and supply the inshore paars with their populations. Dur- 

 ing a careful investigation of the Periya Paar and its surroundings 



"Mr. llornoll is now iiiafinc l)k)logist to the Ceylon government Mud iiisi>ect()r 

 of the pearl banks. — W. A. II. January, 1905. 



