PEARLS AND PEARL-MAKERS. 51 



vored places in the sea. The finest pearls are found 

 near the islands of the Persian Gulf. Here the ancient 

 Macedonians gathered many jewels. The largest fish- 

 eries are carried on at the island of Ceylon. The fish- 

 ing grounds are in control of the British government. 

 The best pearls are yielded by oysters four years old. 

 It is said that an oyster containing a gem will die at 

 seven, and the pearl, of course, will be lost. 



The fishing season occurs early in the spring, and lasts 

 about six weeks. During this time the shore of the is- 

 land is whitened with the tents of native pearl-fishers. 

 A group of boats, each containing ten men, reaches the 

 oyster banks at sunrise. At the firing of a signal gun, 

 the diving commences. The divers work in pairs. One 

 remains in the boat holding a rope. This rope is fast- 

 ened to the other, who dives ; and to him, also, a sink- 

 stone, weighing forty pounds, is attached. 



The greatest danger to which the diver is exposed, is 

 the shark, which has a passion for divers' flesh. To 

 fight this monster, the man takes down with him spikes 

 made of iron-wood. Before he is let down, his clothes 

 are stripped from him by a sort of priest or shark- 

 charmer, who performs over him some strange service. 

 Should the shark, however, come to attack him, the 

 diver does not depend upon the incantations of the 

 charmer, but fights with his spikes 'and stirs up the mud 

 to blind the shark. 



When the gun fires again at noon, the fleet returns, 

 and the oysters are divided into four heaps, of which 

 one goes to the fishermen for their wages, and the re- 

 maining three are sold at auction. The shells are 

 opened and the pearls are sorted by sifting them through 



