82 THE PEARL OYSTER. 



speculators, who immediately open them, and if suc- 

 cessful, sell their prizes, and continue their speculations 

 on a larger scale. 



The pearl oyster, though neither palatable nor whole- 

 some, has no poisonous quality, and is said to be some- 

 times eaten by the poorest of those people who frequent 

 the fishery. In digging anywhere near Kondatchie, the 

 extraordinary depth of oyster shells shows the length of 

 time in which the same difiicult, dexterous, and perse- 

 vering pursuit of these delicate baubles has taken place. 

 The greatest number of oysters, according to Major 

 Forbes, brought in by one boat in a day, was thirty- 

 eight thousand ; the greatest number of boats employed 

 in one day was one hundred and sixty-two, and the 

 greatest length of time any diver that he heard of re- 

 mained under water was seventy seconds. The fishery 

 to which he refers commenced on the 5th of March, 

 and continued until the end of April, 1828. Only one 

 large and one small bank were fished ; the oysters of 

 the former sold as low, at one time, as seven rupees 

 (about fourteen shillings) for a thousand ; and for a 

 short time those of the small bank rose to eighty 

 rupees ; but having been much overvalued, soon fell 

 to one-third of that price. This fishery realized about 

 thirty thousand pounds to the government. 



