nistributiou of /\-<tr/s and J\;iii-sIir/I. 



93 



In luiropeaii countries these concretions were formerlj- 

 used in the preparation of certain medicines."^ 



Like the pearl fislieries of southern in(ha, tliosc 

 situated off the north-west coast of C"e\-lon, in the (iulf 

 of !\lanaar, ch"rectly south of Adams l?rid_i4e, are of very 

 s][reat antiquity. Thc\' are said to liave been well-known 

 to the riioMiicians who traded here in purple robes 

 and other commodities.'"' Pliny'"' refers to Taprobane 

 (Ceylon) as the most productive of pearls of all parts of 

 the world. Ptolcni}', Strabo, and other ancient writers 

 also speak of their importance. According to the 

 " Mahavansa," pearls figure among the native proilucts 

 sent as presents from King Viga\'a of Ce\-lon to his 

 Indian father-in-law, in about 550 i;.C. ; and again when 

 in 306 l!.C., King Devanampij'abissa sent an embassy to 

 hulia the presents are said to have included eight kinds of 

 Ceylon pearls.'' According to Tenneni"" the eight kinds 

 of pearls were : " haya (the horse) ; gaja (the elephant) ; 

 ratha the chariot wheel) ; maalaka (the nelli fruit) ; 

 valaya fthe bracelet) ; anguliwelahka (the ring) ; kakuda- 

 phala (the kabook fruit) ; and [)akatika, the ordinar\- 

 dcscription." 



The only other locality in Ceylon where pearls are 

 obtained is Tamblegam Lake, on the north-eastern coast, 

 near Trincomali. Here Plactiiin fishing is carried on for 

 the sake of the dinu'nutive pearls contained in them. 

 These are exported to the coast of India, to be burned 

 into lime fr.r mixing with betel for chewing. (Tcnncnt, 



op. cit., ii,i)p. 4'J'-2i 



''^ Jeffreys, " I5iit. Concli." i. 1S62, p. Ixv. 



"■' Stieelcr. op. <//., p. iSo ; Tenncni, '" Ceyk'H," LomlDH. 1S50, cn-l 

 ol., v,.l. i.. p. 551. 



•■-■• Pliny, "NMI.,"' bk. ix., cli. 54. 



•■'" W. A. Ileninmn, " Kepori on tlic pearl oyster fisheries i-i ^ >, , .1 

 'Royal Society, London, pt. i., 1905 ; also Kunzand Stevenson, ^lA '"■■, i'-4- 



'■''* Teiinenl, op. cit., i., p. 446. 



