April 2, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
east Cheval there were obtained in ten dives made 
alongside the vessel only 37 oysters, but on the pieces 
of rock and pinna shells brought up at the same 
time there were counted 250 fresh oyster byssus, which 
would have made, had the oysters been attached, 
287 oysters in ten dives, or an average of 29 nearly 
to a dive instead of 4. 
6. I was at first inclined to suspect that the banks 
had been poached, as in all my experience I have 
never found eld oystors to voluntarily quit their ground 
or slip their cables ; but when I considered the magni- 
tude ot the loss of oysters, and that it would have 
takeu 11)0 boats an equal number of days to have 
removed so many oysters ; that I had been in the 
in ighbourhood so recently as the 29th December last ; 
and that in December and January the " Active " 
was on the bank as a guard vessel ; also that the 
weather in December and January is such that people 
would not be likely to venture out so far off the 
land in open boats with the risk of being blown out 
into the Gulf with the strong N.-E. winds which 
then prevail, I at once abandoned the idea of poaching 
as being untenable. 
7. The divors employed at the inspection were of 
opinion that the oysters had been eaten up by a 
vast shoal of skate of the species they call " San- 
koody Tyrica " or "Koopu Tyrica," which they 
say eat up shells and all, even chanks are eaten up by 
them, and thus a bed of oysters might be cleared oft 
by them without a trace of the cause being left behind; 
the divers, say that the smaller species of skate called 
"Vulvaddy Tyrica" crush oyster shells between their 
teeth, suck out the flesh and reject the broken shells, 
thus leaving behind evidence of their depredations ; but 
I can't believe in the existence of euch a large shoal of 
tho skate referred to as would be required to devour 
15G millions of oysters scattered over a very large area 
Of ground, 21 ,746,745 superficial yards, without leaving 
some evidence of the fact. 
8. The engine driver of the '-Active" who has also 
charge of the vessel reported that for eight days in 
December last ho found when out on the Ohoval 
Par a very strong current running to the southward, 
8 or 4 knots he estimates it to have been, but it was 
so strong that he had to let go a second anchor to 
prevent the " Active "' from dragging. I subsequently 
tested the effict ofa current in displacing oysters by 
towing astern of the "Active" a group of 4 old oysters 
attached to a pinna shell. They held on for about an 
hour at a speed of 4 kuots, when it was increased to 6 
knots they dropped off one by one. That test proved 
that oysters would withstand a 4-knot current for a 
short timo, but I am inclined to believe that the 
strain of a 3-to 1-ltuot current prolonged for some days 
would dislodge old oysters anti sweep them away. At 
any rato the current reported by the engine driver 
ot tho " Active " appears to me to be the only 
plausible theory to account for the disappearance of 
the Oheval oysters. 
9. I have searched for the missing oysters from 
the southern limit of the Cheval to the south- 
ward to Karait ivu island, where inquiries were 
made of the fishermen whotber any oysters had been 
washed up on the beach of tho island, but they had 
seen none : they however confirmed the existence of a 
Strong southerly current for some days in December, 
saying that their nets when laid out i ff the western 
shore were rapidly swept to the south. Search was 
also made between tho ftlotarakam l*ar ana K.irmtt'vu 
shonl, down tliM west side of Kuraittvu to the large 
coral reef which lies ofl Dutoh Hay; and from the 
t'hevul in a S. \V. direction out to the edge of the 
bank ol soundings, but all without avail, not a trace of 
the missing oysters was found auy where. 
10. The young oysters on went Cheval referred to 
in my report of the 1st IVei mlier lasi were found to be 
still m existence io large numbers ; and it is interesting 
to ki.ow tbnt the) kept their ground while tho old 
oysters were swept away; but young oysters have 
much greater Imldiug on power in proportion to their 
surface than old oysters, and they would no doubt 
bo able lo hold on against a current tluit would curry 
oft' old unci. The fact of their existence is also against 
the divers' skate theory, for skates would not be likely 
to have devoured old oysters anil left the young ones 
untouched. 
11. 1 found some old oysters still remaining 
on the north and south parts of the Motarakam 
Par, about three millions on the north part 
and two millions on the south part, the latter 
however mixed up witli oysters about a year 
younger. The current has evidently not affected 
the Motarakam, but it being placed further in shore 
and more to the southward than the Cheval, the 
current there would bo likely to have less force. 
Indeed it is only on the extreme eastern side of the 
Cheval where any oysters are left, and the existence 
of any there is probably owing to the current losing 
force thereby being embayed as it were by the 
obstruction offered to its southerly course by tho 
island of Karaittivu and tho largo space of confined 
water between it and the main land, whereas on 
the west side of the Cheval the current would have 
a free run to the southward. 
12. Between the oysters on the Motarakam and 
the remnant on the Oheval, there may yet be about 
15 millions lifted, affording 25 or 30 days' fishing, hut 
the resulting revenue must necessarily fall far short 
of what was, until a few days ago, most reasonably 
expected from what promised to be one of the 
largest and most successful fisheries on record. — I am, 
&c. (Signed.) J. Donnan, Inspector of Pearl Banks. 
CEYLON EXPOETS : 
TEA, CINCHONA, COCONUT PRODUCE, &c. 
If, as we hear from mercantile passengers by 
the " Preussen," tho opinion of leading London 
houses in the " bark" trade i3 very hopeful of a 
better market in the early future, there is nothing 
in this week's export return to damage that pros- 
pect. It will be seen that the comparative falling- 
oil in shipments on tho 8th instant was as much 
as 2,760,000 lb. It is not at all unlikely, however, 
that, for the rest of this month, the shipments 
may be very considerably increased owing to the 
long drought stopping the flushing of tea and 
forcing planters in districts where cinchora is still 
available, to find work for coolies in doing some 
more harvesting of bark. Should this turn out 
to be the case, our friends at home may rest assured 
that it will be but a temporary spurt, and that, as 
from the present date onwards, tea-planters here are 
certain to be exceptionally busy, there will be very 
little attention given to cinchoua, save in Uva, 
unless indeed prices should again suddenly go up 
to a tempting quotation. Moreover, it is stated, 
that seldom if ever before (within the past five 
years) has the stock of bark in Colombo been bo 
low. The cstima'e is from one half to three- 
quarter million lb., but the Secretary of tho 
Chamber ot Coinuiercj wilt 6liuuly publish tho 
exact figures. 
In connection with our recent deliverance 
on Cinchona bark, we ought to have men- 
tioned that, while a fraction over 2d per lb. is 
given as the lowest price at which Ceylon bark 
can be laid down in the London market, counting 
oost of harvesting, transport, packing, freight and 
all charges — but ullowing nothing for cultivation ; 
in tho case of Java bark, the minimum cost of 
the same operations h given ns between 4d an 1 
6fd, and for South American bark 5d to ill per 
lb. A9 regards tho latter, " the fact seems to be 
quite established" — say Messrs. Lewis itr Pent in 
their Annual ltjport — " that, ex:ept in the case ol 
Ca isuya, actual cutting has alto^eth.'r ceased, 
priocs becoming more and more absolutely uu- 
remunerative." Tho wonder is with tho short 
stocks of bark in London at tho end of 1887 and 
tho continued filling- of] in Ceylon shipments 
