52G 



MOLL use A. 



establishes the fact that ih.' most skillful cannot exceed and rarely endure the submersion of 



a minute. . i i .^ 



•• AltiTiiati'lv j)luiiu;in},' and reposin<r, the divers continue their occupation until about ten 

 o'clock in the tuivn..on,'^when the sea-breeze begins to bh)W, and one of the government vessels 

 fires a .nm, :us a signal for the mIioIc flotilla to return to shore. As soon as the boats reach the 

 beach, an immense number of laborers, men, women, and children, rush to them and carry off 

 the produce of the day's fishing. Every speculator has his own group of huts, and in the midst 

 of each of these is a coutto, or space of ground inclosed with poles and transverse pieces of bam- 

 boo,' but open to the air. In these couttos are deposited the oysters as they are landed, and they 

 are left to putrefy, which they soon do, under a burning sun. It is a curious fact, that though 



these numerous couttos, each containing an 

 enormous mass of oysters, all putrefy to- 

 gether on a narrow extent of soil, and emit 

 the most detestable odors, yet the health 

 of the precarious but crowded population 

 gathered there, is no way affected. 



" As soon as the putrefaction is sufficiently 

 advanced, the oysters are taken from the 

 coutto and placed in troughs ; sea-water is 

 then thrown over them. In their putrid 

 state the oysters easily yield the pearls they 

 contain, and a number of men, all standing 

 on the same side of the trough, rapidly shake 

 them out and wash them. After all the 

 shells are thrown out, the pearls remain on 

 the sand at the bottom of the trough. . . . 



" During the prosecution of this fishery, 

 few places can be more animated than the 

 western point of Ceylon. The oysters, or 

 the cleansed pearls, are bought or sold on 

 the spot, and besides this trade, the conflu- 

 ence of so many crowds from different coun- 

 tries attracts dealers in ah sorts of merchan- 

 dise. The long line of huts is a continuous 

 bazaar, and all is life and activity. But, 

 the fishery over, both natives and strangers 

 depart, the huts are knocked down, scarcely 

 a human habitation can be seen for miles, 

 and the most dreary solitude prevails until 

 the next year." 



The Hammer Oyster, Malleus vulgaris, is a very curious species, the shell having the form of 

 a hammer or pick-axe. The Perna isognomum has a somewhat similar form ; it lives in deep 

 water, attached to rocks by its byssus. Another species, the Coxcomb Oyster, Ostrea crista-galli, 

 is curious from the shape of its shell. These are all found in the East Indian seas. 



THE PERNA ISOGNOMUM. 



THE PECTIXID^. 



These include the Scallops, genus Pecten, the shells of which are greatly admired on account 

 of their beautiful forms and colors. They are abundant in some localities, and two species, P. maxi- 

 mus and P. operculat-is, are esteemed good eating and are largely consumed in Europe. Another 

 species, St. James's Cockle, P. Jacohceus^ having been adopted in the Middle Ages as the badge 

 of St. James of Spain, became also the distinction of the pilgrims returning from the Holy Land. 

 About sixty living species of scallop are known, and several are common on our coasts ; nearly 

 as many fossil species have been identified. The P. Magellanicus, a large species, four to five 



