150 GRIFFIN. 



tlie last two, Doong and Lipayaran, where the chaimel is at least i 

 fathoms deep. At the rise and fall of eveiy tide, the water pours 

 thi'ough these passages, at one "place making whirlpools which are much 

 feared b}' the pearl divers and fishermen. A strong current sweeps 

 over the entire shoal. ■ 



During the months of J\Iay, June, JSTovember, and December, when 

 usually the winds are light and calms prevail, the water is so clear that 

 the bottom can plainly be seen in eight fathoms. At such times the 

 divers float around over the shoal looking for pearl shells. There is 

 nothing here that can be called a pearl bank, such as is found near 

 Mindanao, Jolo, or Ceylon. The pearl shells are scattered singly over 

 the sandy bottom, and it is a rare oeuirence for a diver to be so fortunate 

 as to find half a dozen shells in a day's search; he is generally satisfied 

 with one or two shells in a day. As a compensation for the small number 

 of shells, the number of pearls found is proportionally very high and 

 their quality good. 



One pearl found this year was valued at 800 pesos (400 dollars United Stat?^s 

 currency) ; others, worth from 200 to 500 pesos (100 to 250 dollars United States 

 currency) have not been rare. One of the Bantayaai pearls was sold in Cebu 

 about three years ago for 800 pesos (400 dollars United States cui'rency). The 

 mother-of-pearl gathered at Bantayan and disposed of to the local dealers for the 

 year 1908 was worth 1,548 pesos (774 dollars). The pearls bought by the same 

 dealers during this period were worth 4,584 pesos and 50 centavos (2,292 dollars 

 and 25 cents United States currency) . The presidente of Bantayan estimates that 

 mother-of-pearl and pearls of about half this value are sold in such a way that 

 there is no record of them. The total value of the pearl fisheries at this place is 

 then not far from 9,000 pesos (4,500 dollars United States currency) per annum. 

 The competition among the local Chinamen is so great tliat the prices for shell are 

 almost equal to those paid in Cebu. 



The shells are generally second grade in size, l)ut of good quality. 

 The search for them during the favorable season is so keen that the 

 full-grown oysters have nearly all been gathered. If the shoal were 

 smaller or the season longer, the pearl oyster would have disappeared 

 long ago from this place. 



The municipal coiincil recently has passed an ordinance regulating 

 the size of shells which may legally be taken. While this is the proper 

 thing for the council to do, it is doubtful if the ordinance will have 

 the slightest effect upon the pearl fishery. 



This pearl fishery of Bantayan is illustrative of many native Philip- 

 pine industries: while collectively bringing considerable money into the 

 municipality and increasing to that extent the income of a part of the 

 population, there is not the slightest chance of its attracting caintal to 

 Bantayan or of its being expanded by any modern method of working. 

 However, Bantayan seems to be an ideal place for experiments in the 



