﻿360 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OP 
  PISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  [8] 
  

  

  Two 
  of 
  the 
  above 
  figures 
  are 
  particularly 
  suggestive: 
  the 
  enormous 
  

   quantity 
  of 
  1,553 
  tons 
  of 
  mother-of-pearl 
  which 
  French 
  industry 
  is 
  com- 
  

   pelled 
  to 
  buy 
  in 
  England, 
  and 
  the 
  small 
  quantity 
  of 
  28 
  tons 
  represent- 
  

   ing 
  all 
  the 
  mother-of-pearl 
  obtained 
  directly 
  from 
  the 
  French 
  Posses- 
  

   sions 
  in 
  Oceanica.* 
  The 
  Gambier 
  Islands 
  and 
  the 
  Tuamotu 
  Islands 
  

   each 
  produce 
  about 
  GOO 
  tons 
  of 
  mother-of-pearl 
  per 
  annum; 
  but 
  this 
  

   goes 
  mostly 
  to 
  England 
  or 
  Germany. 
  

  

  The 
  best 
  mother-of-pearl 
  comes, 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  already 
  stated, 
  from 
  the 
  

   large 
  pearl-oyster. 
  Other 
  shells, 
  among 
  the 
  rest 
  the 
  nautilus, 
  and 
  even 
  

   the 
  small 
  pearl-oyster, 
  produce 
  mother-of-pearl 
  of 
  inferior 
  quality, 
  used 
  

   in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  less 
  expensive 
  articles. 
  In 
  Australia, 
  the 
  Sunda 
  

   Isles, 
  Banda 
  Sea, 
  Torres 
  Strait, 
  on 
  the 
  coasts 
  near 
  Panama, 
  and 
  in 
  Ta- 
  

   hiti 
  the 
  richest 
  beds 
  of 
  mother-of-pearl 
  are 
  found, 
  and 
  the 
  most 
  exten- 
  

   sive 
  fisheries 
  are 
  carried 
  on. 
  

  

  In 
  Australia 
  these 
  fisheries 
  have, 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years, 
  devel- 
  

   oped 
  enormously 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  new 
  beds. 
  Queensland 
  alone 
  

   in 
  1882 
  exported 
  250 
  tons 
  of 
  mother-of-pearl, 
  representing 
  a 
  value 
  of 
  

   $121,250. 
  The 
  entire 
  quantity 
  yielded 
  by 
  the 
  Australian 
  fisheries 
  in 
  

   1880 
  amounted 
  to 
  from 
  720 
  to 
  750 
  tons. 
  The 
  price 
  of 
  mother-of-pearl 
  

   in 
  this 
  colony 
  varies 
  from 
  $26.50 
  to 
  $39 
  per 
  hundredweight. 
  In 
  1880 
  

   forty-four 
  licensed 
  vessels 
  and 
  fifty-five 
  boats 
  were 
  engaged 
  in 
  these 
  

   fisheries 
  on 
  the 
  northwest 
  coast 
  of 
  Australia. 
  

  

  tThe 
  mother-of-pearl 
  from 
  Port 
  Darwin, 
  Thursday 
  Island, 
  is 
  some- 
  

   what 
  yellowish 
  ou 
  the 
  outside, 
  and 
  when 
  it 
  attains 
  to 
  certain 
  dimen- 
  

   sions 
  breaks 
  in 
  small 
  leaves. 
  It 
  is 
  worth 
  from 
  $G30.50 
  to 
  $079 
  per 
  ton 
  

   brought 
  to 
  London. 
  The 
  consignments 
  comprise 
  shells 
  classed 
  in 
  trade 
  

   according 
  to 
  their 
  dimensions, 
  as 
  "bold," 
  "chicken," 
  and 
  "medium." 
  

  

  The 
  mother-of-pearl 
  from 
  Freemantle 
  has 
  a 
  greater 
  degree 
  of 
  consist- 
  

   ency, 
  is 
  thicker 
  and 
  heavier, 
  not 
  so 
  large, 
  but 
  generally 
  of 
  a 
  whiter 
  color 
  

   than 
  the 
  preceding 
  kind, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  worth 
  about 
  $48.50 
  or 
  more 
  per 
  ton. 
  

   Seven 
  or 
  eight 
  years 
  ago 
  its 
  price 
  rose 
  exceptionally 
  to 
  $1,164 
  per 
  ton. 
  

   As 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  laws 
  to 
  regulate 
  the 
  Australian 
  fisheries, 
  shells 
  of 
  

   greatly 
  varying 
  dimensions 
  are 
  shipped 
  from 
  there. 
  

  

  The 
  Macassar 
  mother-of-pearl 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  expensive, 
  and 
  that 
  which 
  is 
  

   sought 
  after 
  most. 
  White, 
  like 
  that 
  from 
  Australia, 
  but 
  not 
  so 
  dense 
  and 
  

   hard, 
  it 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  sumptuous 
  furniture. 
  

   On 
  an 
  average, 
  120 
  tons 
  are 
  exported 
  per 
  annum, 
  selling 
  — 
  without 
  re- 
  

   gard 
  to 
  dimensions 
  — 
  at 
  about 
  $970 
  per 
  ton. 
  

  

  * 
  These 
  figures, 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  French 
  customs 
  statistics, 
  do 
  not 
  agree 
  with 
  those 
  

   furnished 
  me 
  by 
  the 
  large 
  Paris 
  dealers 
  in 
  mother-of-pearl, 
  nor 
  with 
  those 
  obtained 
  

   at 
  Papaete. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  last-mentioned 
  authority, 
  about 
  70 
  tons 
  of 
  mother-of- 
  

   pearl 
  came 
  to 
  France 
  directly 
  from 
  Tahiti. 
  

  

  tl 
  am 
  indebted 
  to 
  the 
  Hon. 
  Emanuel 
  Sarassin, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  Paris 
  dealers 
  in 
  

   mother-of-pearl, 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  syndicate 
  of 
  manufacturers 
  of 
  fine 
  furniture, 
  for 
  the 
  

   following 
  information 
  relative 
  to 
  the 
  price 
  and 
  quality 
  of 
  mother-of-pearl 
  of 
  different 
  

   origin 
  which 
  comes 
  to 
  the 
  French 
  market. 
  

  

  