SELLING THE OYSTERS ii 



pass into the possession of those who have no right 

 to them. 



On reaching the shore the oysters are carried to the 

 Government building or ' Kottus,' a vast rectangular 

 shed, where they are divided into three heaps ; two of 

 these fall to the Government, and the third belongs to 

 the divers. This latter share the divers sell as soon 

 as they quit the 'Kottus,' sometimes parting with 

 dozens to one buyer, and sometimes selling as few as 

 two or one. In the meantime the Government's two- 

 thirds have been counted and are left for the night. 

 At nine o'clock in the evening these oysters are put 

 up to auction. The Government agent states how 

 many oysters there are to dispose of, and then sells 

 them in lots of one thousand. Some rich syndicates 

 will perhaps buy as many as 50,000 at prices which 

 fluctuate unaccountably during the evening. Within 

 a short time the price will inexplicably drop from 

 thirty-five rupees to twenty-two rupees a thousand, 

 and may then rise again as suddenly and inexplicably 

 as it sank. Early in the morning each purchaser 

 removes his shells to his own private shed, where for 

 a week they are allowed to rot in old canoes and other 

 receptacles for water, and are then searched for pearls. 

 For a couple of months this great traffic goes on, until 

 the divers are thoroughly exhausted, and the camp 

 melts away. 



Owing to the continuous failure of the fishery for 

 ten years from 1891, the Government determined to 

 call in the aid of experts. In the spring of 1901 

 Professor Herdman of Liverpool was asked by the 

 Colonial Office, then under the direction of Mr. Cham- 

 berlain, to visit Ceylon and to report upon the state of 

 the fishery. He reached Colombo early in 1902. He 

 was fortunate in taking out an exceptionally well 

 qualified assistant in Mr. J. Hornell. After a thorough 

 examination of the fishing-grounds, Professor Herd- 



