VI] A CEYLON PEARL FISHERY 69 



on 2000 years ago in much the same simple way as 

 at present. We have ah-eady seen how the Singhalese 

 records go back hundreds of years before the Christian 

 era. Let us now look at one of the recent fisheries. 

 The Ceylon fishery is and always has been an inter- 

 mittent one. At the present date it does not exist 

 at all. Records show that throughout the centuries 

 there has been the same sequence of productive 

 years and bad years. More recently the hand of 

 science has been called upon to alter the stern 

 decrees of nature, but the call seems to have come 

 too late to stave off the present cessation of the 

 industry. In the 19th century there were only 

 36 fisheries. Sometimes, after a few good years 

 there would be a long spell without any fishery. 



How long the present unproductive period will 

 last, none can tell. Neither can one say yet what 

 combination of circumstances Avill cause the re- 

 plenishment of the submerged banks with pearl 

 oysters, although we may guess at the causes of 

 depletion. 



Herdman's visit to Ceylon in 1902 was after 

 twelve yeai*s of unproductiveness, and it was just at 

 a time when the banks were beginning to show signs 

 of another fishery. The promise was fulfilled and 

 for some years there was a truly remarkable series 

 of fisheries — fisheries of very great value to the 

 controllers. In fact, as more than one writer has 



