No. 54.— 1903.] 
ANNUAL REPORT. 
47 
11. The President, in thanking the members for the vote of 
thanks, said he fully appreciated the force of the Hon. Mr. Ferguson's 
remarks. He had been able to do very little for them, but coming 
fresh into a new world as it practically was to him, there was naturally 
a good many things to do and not much time to spare. But he did 
cordially agree with Mr. Ferguson on the subject of Papers. They 
ought to get many of a kind they had not lately, at any rate — his 
experience did not go very far back — Scientific Papers. And he hoped 
one of the earliest Papers they would have would be one " The Oyster." 
It ought to be written by one who could write it no more — he meant 
Mr. Oliver Collett. That was a particularly appropriate subject. 
There was a Meeting before his time at which the G-overnor— he 
referred to His Excellency Sir West Ridgeway— took the Chair, 
and at which a great deal of useful information on the subject of 
oysters was put forward by Mr. Collett. Sir We.'^t Ridgeway and he 
himself had been during the week at the Pearl Fishery— the first, he 
thought, held in Ceylon for eleven years. It was, of course, new to 
them, and they had been marvellously astounded at the manner in 
which that gigantic fishery was worked. There, where three weeks 
ago there were hardly any inhabitants, and for years no more than 
three or four huts with about twenty or thirty inhabitants, had sud- 
deuly collected 23,000 or 24,000 people, all working hard and bringing 
in these oysters, which were divided between Government and the 
divers in a most elaborate system, and the speed and accuracy of 
working the whole business was most astounding. But a very curious 
coincidence on his way to the Pearl Fishery he had received a scientific 
magazine, and in that he came across a very interesting account of a 
fishery which was held— not where the present fishery was taking place, 
but opposite Chilaw. What that writer wrote then was just parti- 
cally what he (the speaker) might have written now, if he was to sit 
down and write what he saw ihe last week. What he intended to say 
was, however this, that the system has no doubt grown up during cen- 
turies, and has no doubt grown very perfect. Still there were certain 
things which he thought required very much to be corrected, and he 
hoped that by another year, or by next fishing at any rate, they should 
be able to do a great deal to reform the present system. For that 
purpose they had Mr. Hornell working out the life-history of the 
oyster and investigating as to the enemies of the oysters and the pearls 
also, and Mr. Hornell ought, before long, to supply them with some 
information for their Journal. They had also an experiment in which 
he had taken a very personal interest himself. He had it in his mind 
for many months, and he was glad to say it was working out very well 
indeed. It was a system of washing out oysters in the same way as he 
used to see gold washed out in other parts of the world. The other 
day when he tried the eight oysters — as an experiment, merely — the 
first produced ten pearls, not counting the seed pearls. They did it in 
a few minutes, and they might have done 800 in the same time. He 
thought the ex|)eriment promised very well. He thought the old 
system of washing by merchants would probably survive for a long- 
time, and he would be sorry to see it disappear, but it was very good 
that Government should have a system for washing the oysters when 
occasion arose. (Applause.) 
This terminated the business of the Meeting. 
