72 



It is a significant fact that this ground is particularly ;; clean ", free from cultch anil 

 from any impediment to an auimal scraping the oysters off in wholesale quantities. It 

 is ideal dredging ground. Equally significant is the fact that on rougher ground and 

 on areas where bulky cultch occurs, no depredation whatever took place. From this 

 I infer that the presence of fragmentary material is a safeguard against rays; they are 

 unable to differentiate between oysters and rubble when feeding, and when the latter 

 is present, mastication being prevented, the rays find the ground unsuitable and move 

 away. 



Hence the cultching of the Tolayiram Par would serve two purposes of vital 

 importance ; it would give additional and much needed holding ground to oysters 

 and would tend largely to diminish the damage liable to result from the inroads 

 of rays. 



Much more sediment i9 held in suspension in the water on the Indian banks than 

 in the case of the Ceylon banks. I do not however consider that this exercises any 

 greatly deleterious effects upon oysters on the outer banks of the central and 

 southern divisions ; on the Kilakarai banks the profusiou of muddy sediment is exces- 

 sive, as it also is on some of the inner of the more southern banks, and in such places 

 we cannot expect any spat-fall ever to reach maturity. From the mouths of all the 

 rivers along this coast great amounts of mud are poured forth annually and this in 

 conjunction with the growth of new fringing coral reefs along the shore, each succes- 

 sive one further seaward than its predecessor, causes encroachment upon the sea. 

 The old p&rs are thus brought more within the harmful influence of river sediment. 

 The process is an exceedingly slow one and the danger to the beds appears greater on 

 paper than it is in reality, even though we know that Korkai, the Kolkhi of the 

 Grseco-Romans of 1,800 years ago, and the great pearling centre of that day, is now 

 several miles inland, and its successor, Kayal, converted as well from a flourishing 

 seaport into an inland village. 



Again while the presence of so much sedimant is harmful, at least to the inshore 

 banks, it has beneficial effects upon the prosperity of the chank-beds, which flourish 

 most vigorously wherever there is a plentiful admixture of mud with the sand, 

 especially if there be much organic matter present, as happens off the mouth of 

 rivers. 



To this great abundance of mud is due the superior richness of the Tuticorin 

 chank-beds over those in the neighbourhood of the Ceylon Pearl Banks, where the 

 sand is composed largely of a coarse clean quartz- grit. 



Character op the Supervision requiked. 



To place the entire management of the pearl banks under scientific control i» 

 the only way whereby the inspection methods can be satisfactorily reorganized and a 

 permanent return to prosperity assured in regard to the pearl fishing industry. I can- 

 not well improve upon the words used in 1884 by the Hon'le Mr. H Sullivan Thomas, 

 then First Member of the Board of Revenue, in his very valuable report to Government 

 on this fishery, namely : — 



" I think the deficiencies in the record of facts tend to show that though in 

 " Captain Phipps the Government has had an intelligent and painstaking officer, he 

 " has not been seconded by any scientific supervision anywhere, and that his active 

 " interest in his duties might have been turned to better effect if he had had from time 

 *' to time the assistance of some one who had leisure and appliances for adding a 

 " scientific turn to his inquiries. It appears therefore that if the Government contem- 

 " plate ever constituting a fisheries department, pearl fisheries should be combined 

 " with it and have the advantage of any scientific knowledge that department may 

 " have." * 



Looking at the matter from a practical point of view, I do not consider that under 

 present circumstances it would be advisable to engage a qualified expert in economic- 

 biology to devote himself solely to the care of the pearl banks, even though he be so 



* Loc. cit., -paragraph 96, page 2fL 



