PEARLS 597 



the more abundant, and the oysters are obtained by dredging ; while those belonging to the 

 larger variety are collectpd by diving. 



According to Mcibius, the whole of the Pacific Ocean is a pearl-sea, for the 

 inhabitants of most of the islands north and south of the equator have been observed by 

 sea-farers to wear pearls and mother-of-pearl as ornaments, and to use fish-hooks fashioned 

 out of mother-of-pearl. 



South of the equator the pearl-oyster is known to occur in the vicinity of the Solomon, 

 Society, and Marquesas Islands ; also in the Low Archipelago, south of which lie the small 

 Gambler Islands, particularly important as a locality for pearl-oysters. North of the 

 equator these molluscs are found near the Marianne Islands and the Marshall Islands ; while 

 from the Sandwich Islands are obtained pearls of small size and inferior quality. Those 

 from the latter islands are, however, not of marine but of fresh-water origin ; the mussels 

 in which they were formed inhabiting among other streams the Pearl river, distant fourteen 

 miles from Honolulu in the island of Oahu. 



On the west coast of Central America and of Mexico there are extensive oyster-banks, 

 which were fished by the original inhabitants even before the discovery of the new world, 

 especially near Tototepec, in the Mexican State of Oajaca. The Spaniards reaped a rich 

 harvest from both the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Panama, and even now both 

 pearls and mother-of-pearl are obtained from the same parts. In the Gulf of Panama, the 

 neighbourhood of the Archipelago del Rey and of Taboga is rich in pearl-oysters ; these are 

 the Pearl Islands (Islas de las Perlas) of the Spanish conquerors, but the banks in the 

 neighbourhood are now almost exhausted. On the coast of Costa Rica the Gulf of Nicoya 

 is mentioned. 



The islands of Cubagua and Margarita in the Caribbean Sea on the east side of 

 America were once noted for their pearl-fisheries. The pearls found there surpass all others 

 of American origin in size and beauty ; but these so-called " occidental ■" pearls are never 

 quite equal to the " oriental " or Indian. Though often larger they are usually less perfect 

 in form and more lead-coloured in tint. The oyster-banks surrounding these islands are 

 now completely exhausted ; and New Cadiz in Cubagua, the town founded by Diego 

 Columbus, the son of the discoverer, in 1509, once a busy centre of the pearl-fishing 

 industry, is also deserted. From the Colombian coast between Rio Hacha and Maracaibo 

 beautiful pearls are now obtained in greater numbers than from the west coast. These 

 pearls originate, however, in another mollusc, namely, Avicula squamulosa, the shell of 

 which, though beautifully lustrous, is too thin to be of any value as a source of mother-of- 

 pearl. In the West Indian Sea the island of St. Thomas is mentioned as a locality for the 

 pearl-oyster, but it is of little importance. 



Mobius estimates that about 20,000,000 marine pearl-oysters are fished annually, 

 and of these about 4,000,000 contain pearls. Even on the supposition that from every 

 thousand pearl-oysters only one fine pearl is obtained, the yearly yield of costly specimens 

 would be 20,000, and when the table of prices quoted above is referred to it becomes 

 obvious that such an average yield allows of a considerable margin for profit. Moreover, 

 the enoi'mous quantities of shells supplied yearly to the trade, as a source of mother-of-pearl, 

 are worth at least as much as the total annual yield of pearls. In spite of the millions of 

 pearl-oysters taken every year from the sea, there is apparently no exhaustion of the banks. 

 Although the fishing of certain spots has had to be abandoned because of the exhaustion of 

 the banks, yet this has made no appreciable difference in the total yield. 



Many attempts have been made in the Dutch East Indian seas to establish pearl-oyster 

 banks, just as the development of edible-oyster banks is commenced by planting a number 



