Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries. 419 



boats along the entire coast, each boat containing from 

 10, 20, to 32 men. Of the above number of boats about 

 1 500 will belong to Bahrein. 



A large number of the boats employed in the Persian 

 Gulf fishery are in the hands of pearl merchants, whether 

 Hindoo or other, who reside in the towns of the littoral. 

 These agents make advances of moneys to the divers during 

 the non-diving season. As a rule, the diving may be in 

 water of four to seven fathoms in depth. The crew is told 

 off into divers and rope-holders, the former diving, while 

 the latter keep the boat and stand by to haul the diver up. 



The value of the Persian Gulf fishery has been usually 

 estimated at ;^400,ooo a-year. Lieutenant Whitelocke, 

 Lieutenant Wellsted, and other well-informed authorities, 

 give this amount, and Colonel Pelly confirms it recently ; 

 for he says the annual out-turn of this pearl fishery is 

 assumed to be as follows : — The Bahrein pearl divers, 

 ;£'200,000 ; divers from the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf, 

 others than Bahrein, ;^200,ooo ; total, ;£'40o,ooo. The great 

 bulk of the best pearls is sent to the Bombay market, 

 where fancy prices are often given for good pearls. A large 

 number of pearls is sent towards Bagdad. As a rule, 

 the Bombay market seeks the pearl of yellowish hue and 

 perfect sphericity ; while the Bagdad market prefers the 

 white pearl. The small seed-pearls go principally to Bag- 

 dad also. The value of the pearls imported into Bagdad 

 from Bahrein was, in 1865, about ;^ 30,000; in i866,;^25,ooo ; 

 in 1867,;^ 18,000 ; but in the two following years the annual 

 imports did not average ;^ 8,000. 



The next fishery of any importance is in Central 

 America, on the Atlantic and Pacific sides ; but even here, 

 from over-fishing, the pearls have become exhausted, the 

 oysters not being allowed to reach maturity. 



