VII] PEARL FISHERIES OF OTHER LANDS 85 



At the bottom, be gathers as many pearl oysters 

 as possible, places them in the basket, and when 

 ready gives the signal to be hauled up. The basket 

 alone may be hauled up with the diver hanging on 

 to it or there may be a rope round the man's waist. 



The fishery lasts from June to September when 

 the sea is at its best for this purpose. The pearls 

 from the Gulf are not so white or as fine as those 

 from Ceylon. Frequently they possess a yellow 

 colour. Curiously enough, however, in Bombay 

 these pearls seem to be preferred to the white. 



The Red Sea Pearl Fishery is another ancient 

 industry. It was flourishing in fact in the time 

 of the Ptolemies. Two species of pearl oyster are 

 fished, a variety of M. margaritifera, which is the 

 Egyptian shell of the trade, and also the Ceylon 

 species which is smaller in size and fished for pearls 

 alone. Jiddah was at one time the chief seat of the 

 industry, but now it has lost that position. The 

 pearls are finally exported from Alexandria and are 

 known as " Egyptians." 



The Australian Pearl Fisheiies are of very con- 

 siderable importance and are probably the largest 

 and best equipped at the present time in the world. 



The fishing, for either mother-of-pearl shell or 

 for pearls, is carried on at various places on the 

 north-west, the north and north-eastern coasts. 



For a quarter of a century pearl oyster fishing 



