400 THE EASTERN PEARL-FISHERY. [CHAP. ix. 



this. In the East, too, in those early days, the pearl was held 

 in the highest esteem. We read of one gem, still to be seen 

 in Persia, I believe, that had a market price set upon it equal to 

 100,000 of our money; and there is another pearl mentioned 

 as obtained in 1587 from the island of Margarita which weighed 

 250 carats, the value of which was named as being #150,000; 

 and there are many other instances on record of the value 

 of pearls to which I need not make further reference. 



When our government took up the Eastern pearl-fishery 

 in 1797, the annual produce was 144,000, which in the fol- 

 lowing year was increased by 50,000, but immediately after- 

 wards fell off, most probably from overfishing. It revived 

 again, and in the beginning of the present century the pearl 

 ground was leased to private adventurers at the large rent of 

 120,000 per annum, with the wise understanding that the 

 bed or bank was to be divided into portions, only one of which 

 was to be worked at a time, so that a part of the mussels 

 might have a good rest. From various causes, however, the 

 Ceylon fisheries have again failed, and for a year or two have 

 been totally unproductive. In a privately-printed work on 

 Ceylon, by James Steuart, Esq. of Colpetty, which the author 

 has kindly forwarded to me along with a quantity of Oriental 

 pearl-oyster shells, there is a very interesting description of 

 the Ceylon pearl-fishery, with notes on the natural history of 

 the oyster. In reference to the recent failure of the fishery 

 for gems in the Gulf of Manaar, Mr. Steuart has supplied me 

 with the following interesting note : 



" The Gulf of Manaar pearl-fisheries having again ceased to 

 be productive, the government of Ceylon appear to be im- 

 pressed with a belief that further information is needed re- 

 specting the habits of the pearl-oyster, and that it may be 

 desirable to obtain the services of a naturalist to study and 

 report on the best means of insuring a continuous revenue 

 from pearls. 



