LECTURE 111 
«onie resemblance the eye of a peacock’s feathefo 
But the far piore valuable products of this shell 
are Pear^^^ themselves, which are found sometimes 
loose-, and sometimes adhering to the shell, as well 
as in the body of the animal. 
The pearl muscle, or Mytilus margaritiferus, is 
most common about the shores of the East-Indian 
islands, and particularly of Ceylon, where the 
chief pearl-fisheries have long been established, and 
of which an interesting description may be found 
in the Asiatic Researches and other publications. 
According to the tenor of these accounts, one of 
the chief pearl-fisheries of Ceylon is carried on, at 
different periods, in a semilunar bay called the 
bay of Condatchy, surrounded by a waste, sandy 
district : during the fishing-season this bay is said 
to offer a scene equally novel and astonishing; 
being frequented by a heterogeneous mixture of 
thousands of people of different nations, casts, and 
colours, residing in tents and huts erected on the 
surrounding shores: you here meet with brokers, 
jewellers, and merchants of all descriptions, as well 
as dealers in all kinds of provision; but by far the 
greater number are engaged in the pearl-business 
itself ; in drilling, sorting, and otherwise preparing 
