156 Journ. of the Asiat. Soc. of Bengal. [May & June, 19}. 
year and the fishery had accordingly to be carried on as best 
might be. Instead of the 100 boats estimated to be necessary 
for effective fishing, 37 was the largest number ever engaged In 
one day. Competition at the auction was frequently weak and 
there was very little demand for oysters in large quantities. 
The results obtained at this Tondi Fishery are sufficient to 
suggest that whatever advantages ‘‘skin’’ diving has undet 
dredging and trawling for oysters have been tried with unsatit 
factory results, there is good reason to believe the latte 
method would prove remunerative on the Indian side of Pali 
a The reward, if the attempt were to be successful, should 
be great, for the pearl value of these peculiar oysters has beet 
certified as exceptionally high at the fishery just closed. Al 
though the pearls were few in number, when found they We? 
one 
obtained by one of the Sub-Magistrate’s clerks in a small lot of 
a dozen oysters bought for eight annas. It measured 33 inch 
t 
most handsome, the skin perfect, the lustre fine, the shape 
absolutely spherical, and the colour good though @ trifle ye 
lowish. The owner was offered Rs. 1,200 on the spot, ut be | 
refused to sell at this, believing the pearl to be worth considet 
ably more. Merchants stated that they very seldom find peat® 
approaching this size in Ceylon oysters and hence the specu 
tive value of the Palk Bay oysters is wonderfully high, 8° ™ 
although the valuation sample in April was estima on i 
pearl yield to be worth only some Rs. 8 per 1000 oysters; 
one occasion only did prices fall during the fishery 5° low # 
Rs. 15; the average was about Rs. 25 per 1000 and a co 
oe quantity was sold in the neighbourhood at Rs. 50% 
_ Although no record exists of the occurrence of pearl ? | 
eries off Tondi in previ i 
neither the organization nor the means for the proper inte | 
{ 
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