126 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



slowly recovering and produces perhaps 200 tons per year. There is no fishing 

 south of Shark Bay. 



Venezuela (Porlamar). Here very inferior small shells are fished almost ex- 

 clusively for pearls. The shells are often full of veins and very thin. They are 

 rarely used industrially. These oysters are probably of a difiFerent species. 



Belbil. In the southern part of the Red Sea Margaritifera vulgaris are found 

 alongside the regular shell in such small quantities that they are hardly worth 

 freight charges. 



Margaritifera 



White Shells (Various Species). Sxjdnexj. Large white shells, weighing up to 1 

 pound each, are found in this region. They are also termed "Queensland" or 

 "Thursday Island" shells. There is a great fishery here. 



Port Darwin. This is a small fishery in the northern part of Australia, 

 from which the finest white shell has been secured. 



Western Australia. The shells found here are also called "Fremantle" by the 

 English trade as it was formerly the most important port of shipment for white 

 shells. Not as large nor as fully developed as the "Sydneys" or "Aroes", they weigh 

 up to about 1 pound each. 



Aroes. These shells are also called "Macassars", from the former shipping 

 port; now most of them are shipped directly from Dobo. There are two kinds of 

 shells of similar quality. Those called "native-fished" have been recovered by 

 hand. The deep-water fishing with scaphanders produces many old and defective 

 shells. 



The mother-of-pearl furnished by the Netherlands East Indies has been re- 

 garded as some of the best in the world. The chief fisheries are those of the 

 Aroe Islands near the southwest coast of New Guinea. As is commonly the case 

 with native industries, the methods employed are very primitive. The work is 

 done principally from February to April. As the Chinese compete actively in the 

 purchase of mother-of-pearl, good prices are obtained. 



The United States is by far the most important market for higher quality white 

 shells. Some go to England for knife handles, etc., and only the very poorest are 

 taken to Central Europe, where they are made into small buttons. 



Yellow Shells. Yellow shells, curiously enough, are located only in an area which 

 is close to that inhabited by the yellow races. They are found from Lower Burma, 

 along the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, and also in the numerous islands of the 

 Dutch East Indian Archipelago, the area ending abruptly in the southern part 

 of the Philippine Islands. 



These shells often grow to enormous size, sometimes weighing as much as 

 from 2 to 3 pounds apiece. The center is often perfectly white, while the lips 

 and the part close to the bark are often dark yellow or almost brown. By cutting 

 a cylinder out of any of these shells the top layers can be utilized for white 

 work and the lower parts for inferior purposes. 



Singapore. This comprises a mixture of all sorts of yellow shells from the 

 various islands where they are fished, such as Bangay, Bima, Batjan, Solor, etc., 

 and formerly derived to a great extent from shipments from the Philippines, 

 where the Chinese merchants of Singapore have their Chinese correspondents. 

 The various qualities are made into uniform mixed lots. 



