Ceylon Pearl Fisheries. 207 



more especially from Madras and Bombay. As a 

 consequence of such competition, the price has risen 

 considerably for the oyster, although the yield of 

 the oyster in fine Pearls has been less. Formerly 

 at the public auction, 15 rupees was a fair average 

 price for a thousand oysters, but in the fishery of 

 1880, the competition was so keen that several lots 

 reached 60 and 70 rupees a thousand. To this must 

 be added the great expense of transfer to Colombo, 

 and the many changes necessary before the final 

 washing was undertaken ; considering the uncertain 

 chances of the yield of Pearls, the speculation be- 

 comes as risky as a gambling table. 



No doubt if the business were conducted entirely 

 by natives much of the expense could be saved, as 

 the Pearls might then be washed at the fishing 

 station ; but from the intense heat and discomfort 

 of a tropical country, residence in a temporary hut 

 and exposure for weeks to a dangerous atmosphere, 

 scarcely any European could live there, and, indeed, 

 very few of the natives care to undertake operations 

 on the spot. The enterprize is a most speculative 

 one, and is scarcely ever found to be a profitable trans- 

 action, even when pursued entirely by the natives. 



For the purchaser of oysters a much safer and 

 more lucrative result could be obtained by purchasing 

 of the small dealers the little lots of Pearls that 



