338 An Account of the Pearl Fifbery at Ceylon. 
on the banks; almoft all of them ufed differently formed, 
clumfy, heavy, wooden anchors, large ftones, &c. &e. If 
this evil cannot be entirely prevented, it might, at leaft, be 
greatly leflened, by obliging them all to ufe anchors of a 
particular fort, and lefs deftructive. 
This feafon the Seewel Bank only was fifhed, which lies 
above twenty miles to the weftward of Aripoo, oppofite to 
the frefh water rivers of Moofalee, Mcdragam, and Pompa- 
ripoo. It has been obferved, that the pearls on the north- 
weit part of this bank, which confifts of rock, are of a clearer 
water than thofe found on the fouth-eaft, neareft the fhore, 
growing on corals and fand, 
Condatchey is fituated in a bay, forming nearly a half 
moon, and is a wafte, fandy diftriét, with ae miferable 
huts built on it. - The water is bad and brackifh, and the 
foil produces only a few, widely feattered, ftunted trees and 
bufhes. Thofe perfons who remain here during the fifhery 
are obliged to get their water for drinking from Aripoo, a 
village with a {mall old fort, lying about four miles to the 
fouthward. Tigers, porcupines, wild hogs, pangolines, or 
the Ceylon armadillos, are, amongft other quadrupeds, here 
common. Of amphibia, there are tortoifes, efpecially. the. 
teftudo geometrica, and various kinds of fnakes. A concho- 
logift meets here with a large field for his enquiries. The 
prefents which I made to the people employed in the fifhery, 
to encourage them to colleét. all forts of fhells which the 
divers bring on fhore, produced but little effe&t; as they were 
too much taken up in fearching after the mother-of-pearl 
fnells to pay attention to any other ,objeét. However, my 
endeavours were not entirely ufelefs; I will fpecify here a 
few of the number I collected during my ftay: different — 
kinds of peéfines*, palium porphyreum, folen radiatus Tt, © 
Venus caftrenfis Linn. } aftrea hyotis§, ofr. Forfkohi, ofr. 
Malleus ||, mytilus birundo Linn. §, /pondilus crocius, pholgs 4 
* Scallops. + Radiated razor-fhell. 
+ Alpha cockle. § Double cock’s-comb. : 
lI viguiner oyfter; thefe were pretty large, but many broken, and fome 
-covered by a calcareous cruft. It is yery probable that arnong thofe there 
may be fome precious qwh/fe ones. @ Swallow i 
