102 



of water, "but the situation was, evidently, not favourable for 

 their healthy growth.^ 



The weather being unfavourable for the work of inspect- 

 ing, we had to remain unwillingly in Dutch Bay, the days 

 being spent in cruising about, and dredging in the shallow 

 water. But on the 2yth, as the wind had changed and the 

 sea abated, we made a start for the neighbouring pearl 

 bank — Muttuwartu Par — to which we were towed by the 

 Active. As soon as we had anchored on the south end of 

 the bank a diver was sent down from the ship's side in (5j 

 fathoms, and brought up his rope basket containing plenty of 

 healthy, living oysters, which, he reported, came away easily 

 from the " rock " to which they were attached by their 

 byssi.^ At the fishery in March the divers complained of the 

 difficulty in detaching the oysters ; and the ease Avith which 

 they can be gathered is considered a sign whether they are 

 ripe for fisliing or not, the byssus being said to begin to 

 break away from the substance to which it adheres tightly 

 in the early existence of the oyster after the 5th year. 



The excellent system which is employed in the inspection 

 of the Ceylon banks, and by which a thorough knowledge 

 of the condition of the banks is obtained, is as follows. The 

 inspection barque is anchored in a position fixed on the 

 chart by bearings from the shore. The steam tug, towing 

 a boat with buoys bearing flags on board, first lays out 

 buoys in the north, south, east, and west at distances of j, i, 

 and I of a mile from the barque. Buoys are then laid out 

 at a distance of | of a mile from the barque in the north- 

 east, north-west, south-east, and south-west. Four diving 

 boats, each with a coxswain in charge, 5 rowers, 3 divers, 

 and 2 munducks, are arranged in line between the north ^ 

 mile buoy and the barque, the distance being equally divided 

 between the boats. The rowers work round in a circle, and 

 the divers make frequent dives in search of oysters until 

 the starting point is reached. The boats are then again 

 arranged in position, and the circle between the i and | mile 

 buoys is explored. Lastly, the third circle, between the ^ 

 and f mile buoys, is, in like manner, explored ; so that, when 



^ E. W. H. Holdsworth. Report on the Conditions and Prospects of the 

 Pearl-Oijster Banks, 1868. 



* " The term rock is applied to pieces of coral, living or dead, averaging 

 about a foot in diameter, which are scattered more or less thickly over certaiu 

 parts of the banks." Holdsworth, I.e. 



