PEARL FISHERY. 



sons who, from experience, are enabled 

 to judge whether it is probable they are 

 of an age calculated to answer the pur- 

 poses of the intended fishing 1 : the exami- 

 nation is not, however, deemed suffi- 

 cient, and the oysters are opened, when 

 the pearls are extracted, and after sort- 

 ing- them they are valued. It is really 

 shocking to humanity to reflect, that if 

 one thousand oysters produce as many 

 pearls as are worth three pounds sterling, 

 the fishery is undertaken, as it has been 

 found that the examination of that number 

 is a sufficient designation of success, or 

 the reverse. 



In the progress of this preliminary part 

 of the undertaking, the oysters are found 

 at various periods of their growth : those 

 not more than one year old are very 

 small, being less than an inch in circum- 

 ference, and the full grown oysters are 

 as large as the palm of the hand of a man : 

 .between the ages of four and five years 

 the seed pearl only is discovered ; but 

 after this period they increase in size very 

 rapidly ; and, as has been before observ- 

 ed, they die after the eighth year. After 

 completely satisfying themselves as to 

 the probability of future success, the re- 

 sult is published, for the information of 

 those who may be inclined to partake of 

 the probable advantages. Since the isl- 

 and of Ceylon has bee'n a part of the Bri- 

 tish empire, each fishing season has either 

 been reserved for the exclusive use of 

 government, or rented to speculative 

 persons : but the produce has never 

 amounted to 200,000/. on any one occa- 

 sion. The most common practice is to 

 farm the season to an individual, who lets 

 the right of partaking to others. 



The fourteen banks, or beds, on which 

 the oysters are found, are situated in the 

 bottom of the gulph of Manaar, and are 

 included in a space about thirty miles in 

 length, from north to south, and twenty- 

 four in breadth. It has been ascertain- 

 ed, that the largest of those beds is ten 

 miles long, and two broad ; the remain- 

 der are much smaller; nor are they all 

 equally productive, as it seldom happens 

 that more than three beds can be mark- 

 ed for use in any given season. The 

 spots where the oysters lay are not raised 

 higher than the surrounding parts, ex- 

 cept by their accumulation, and the coral 

 rocks, on which the most valuable are 

 placed, are on a level with the sand : the 

 depth of water over them varies from 

 eighteen to ninety feet, and the most 

 convenient and best fishing is at the 

 depth of between six and eight fathoms. 



When it is thought proper to undertake 

 a fishery, advertisements are issued in the 

 English and Malabar languages, inviting- 

 the possessors of boats suited for the pur- 

 pose, and all divers, to meet on the 20th 

 of February, in the bay of Condaatchy : 

 vessels of this description assemble from 

 various places on the coast of Coroman- 

 del, completely equipped, and furnished 

 with every necessary for the accomplish- 

 ment of their intentions : those are open, 

 of about one ton burthen, forty -five feet 

 in length, seven or eight wide, and three 

 deep in the hold ; and are so constructed 

 as to draw not more than eight or ten 

 inches water, unless they are heavily lad- 

 en, and are navigated with one sail only. 

 They have a complement of twenty-three 

 men, whose employments are thus ap- 

 propriated : one pilot; one man for the 

 helm; another to take care of the boat; 

 one to lade out water ; ten divers ; ten 

 mundrees, who haul up the divers, the 

 stones, and the baskets ; and a peon at- 

 tends on the part of the renter to take 

 care that his interests do not suffer from 

 fraud. 



A second examination of the banks 

 takes place a few days before the opera- 

 tions begin, which is merely for the pur- 

 pose of anchoring buoys, to point out the 

 situation of the banks, and those parts of 

 them most abounding with the object of 

 search. A small sloop is from the first 

 stationed in the centre of the banks, 

 where she remains, for the double pur- 

 pose of guarding the buoys, and as a 

 guide to the boats. The pilot boats 

 make a circuit of twelve or fifteen miles 

 round the sloop, sounding and sending 

 down the divers, and upon discovering a 

 place remarkable for the number of oys- 

 ters, a buoy is immediately placed over 

 it, which consists of triangular rafts cf 

 wood, fastened by a cable attached to a 

 wooden anchor, sunk by two stones. The 

 rafts support flags of various colours ; and 

 drawings of those are inserted in a book, 

 where a minute description is given of 

 the name, quality, and age of the oysters 

 on the bank under each flag. Three 

 hours sailing of the boats employed in 

 the pearl fishery from the shore of Con- 

 daatchy, or a distance of about fifteen 

 miles, occurs between the banks and that 

 place : unfortunately the land near them 

 is so low, that it is impossible to make use 

 of it in ascertaining their position ; it 

 becomes, therefore, absolutely necessary 

 to renew at each fishery the fatiguing' 

 operation of sounding- and diving, the 

 buoys being- all removed at the close cf 



