14 



It may not be out of place to elucidate the meaning of 

 some of the terms used in the above statement, and I cannot 

 do better than quote from the excellent article on the Pearl 

 Fisheries of Ceylon by Mr. Q-. Vane, C.M.Gr., who writes as 



follows ^ : — 



" Sorting and sizing the pearls into ten diflFerent sizes, from 

 the largest to the smallest, is done by passing them through ten 

 brass sieves of 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1,000 



holes each of the ten sizea may include some of every class 



of pearls; the 20 to 80 and 100 may each have the dni, anatari, 

 and kallipii kiads, and this necessitates the operation of classing, 

 which requires great judgment on the part of the valuers. 



"Perfection in pearls consists in shape and lustre, viz., 

 sphericity and a silvery brightness, free from any discolouration ; 

 and, according as the pearls possess these essentials, the valuers 

 assign their appropriate class, namely, — 



" Ani . . . . Perfect in sphericity and lustre. 



"Anatari ,, •• Followers or companions, but failing 



somewhat in point of sphericity or 

 lustre. 



" Masanku . . . . Imperfect, failing in both points, especi- 



ally in brilliancy of colour. 



" Kallipii . . . . Failing still more in both points. 



" Kural . . . . A double pearl, sometimes ani. 



' ' Pi'sal . . . . Misshapen, clustered, more than two to 



each other. 



" Madauku . . Folded or bent pearls. 



" Vadivu . . . , Beauty of several sizes and classes. 



" Tul . . . . Small pearls of 800 to 1,000 size. 



*' The pearls having been thus sized and classed, each class 

 is weighed and recorded in kalanchu (kalungy) and maHchadi 

 (manjaday). 



*' The kalanchw is a brass weight equal, it is said, to 67 grains 

 Troy. The manchddi is a small red berry ^ ; each berry, when 

 full sized, is of nearly, or exactly the s'ame weight ; they are 

 reckoned at twenty to the kalanchu. 



" The weights being ascertained, the valuation is then fixed to 

 each pearl class or set of pearls according to the respective sizes 

 and classes : the inferior qualities solely according to weight in 

 kalahchu and mauchadi ; the superior dni, anatari, and vadivu are 

 not valued only by weight, but at so much per chevo of their 

 weight, this chevo being the native or pearl valuer's mode of 



^ Jotirnal, Ceylon Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, 1887, vol. X, No. 34. 

 Paper read at the Conference Meeting of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 

 October 6, 1886. 



^ The seed of Abrm precatorius. 



