h'BB. 1, 1901. J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
525 
OUR PEAEL FIRHERIES : 
MR, SAVILLE-KENT, F.l'.S., F.Z.S., 
TO THE RESCUE. 
We direct attention to the long and inter- 
esting letter (on page 541) with which Mr, 
Saville-Kent has favoured us by a late mail. 
It explains the circumstances under which his 
telegram was forwarded to our office ; and we 
are glad to see that he had previously ad- 
dressed the Governor, sending His Excellency 
full particulars of his capabilities and ex- 
perience with reference to the undertaking 
of an enquiry into, and, if possible, resusci- 
tation of, the Ceylon Pearl Fisheries. There 
can be no doubt of the unequalled position 
held by Mr. Saville-Kent in reference to 
exploration in this direction (Pearl-yielding 
and Pearl-shell oysters) outside of the United 
Kingdom and of Europe. No other scientist 
of the day — English or foreign — has had the 
same experience. This is testified to by the 
couple of elaborate and splendidly illus- 
trated folio volumes issued by Mr. Saville- 
Kent giving the result of his labours, these 
being entitled :—" The Great Barrier Reef 
of Australia " (a copy of which is in the 
Colombo Museum) and " The Naturalist in 
Australia" (a copy of which is possessed 
by Mr. Oliver Collett, of Watawala, and 
also by ourselves). We suppose that the 
scientific world fully admit the great value 
of these two books . and of the prolonged 
abours, keen observations and successful ex- 
periments recorded in them in connection 
with Pearl and other oysters. Why then, it 
t iay be asked, was Mr. Saville-Kent's name 
not forwarded to the Secretary of State by 
Professor Ray-Lankester ? This, we think, 
is partly explained in the letter before us, 
and it is for that reason that we have 
thought it wise to give certain particulars 
which the writer intended more especially 
for our own information ; but which we 
think, in Mr. Saville-Kent's own interests, 
had much better be made known, since 
already we had heard remarks made about 
his having fallen out of sight in the scientific 
world of late years. This is explained by 
his unfortunate connection with a syndicate 
started for commercial purposes to exploit 
a portion of the Australian Pearl Banks — 
which project, after much trouble and ex- 
pense to Mr. Saville-Kent, entirely collapsed 
— and also to the fact that the younger 
generation of scientists are not so well- 
acquainted with him and his work as were Sir 
Wm. Flower and Mr. Huxley, both, of course, 
deceased. It seems to us that Mr. Saville- 
Kent has a plain, straightforward story to 
tell us, and that it will be a pity if his claims 
to service in the Ceylon Pearl Oyster Enquiry 
were put entirely on one side. At the same 
time, we are by no means blind to the special 
qualifications and great scientific authority 
of Professor Herdman of Liverpool ; and in 
the interests of the Colony we should feel 
quite safe if he were offered, and accepted, 
the appointment. But there are certainly 
two points to bear in mind :— (1) that Pro- 
fessor Herdman has had no previous ex- 
perience of the Pearl- Yielding Oyster or of 
Oyster Fisheries outside of Europe ; and (2) 
that he is not likely to be able with his 
other engagements, to give continuous time 
or attention to the Enquiry in Ceylon. In 
other words, he cannot give up his Univer- 
sity duties which occupy, perhaps, six months 
of each year, apart from other engagements. 
It is quite possible, therefore, if Mr. 
Saville-Kent be eager for the Ceylon ap- 
pointment—as after his Australian experi- 
ence, he may well be expected to be— and will 
make known his claims in the proper quarters 
at home, as he has already done to the 
Governor of Ceylon,— that Professor Herd- 
man would himself support the .appoint- 
ment, or withdraw in favour, of the gentle- 
man who has made a name as the "Natural- 
ist in Australia." 
It will be seen that Mr, Saville-Kent is 
prepared at once to apply his past experi- 
ence to the work reqiiired and feels san- 
guine that fisheries of the larger Australian 
mother-of pearl oysters (which often con- 
tain valuable pearls) could be established in 
our waters ; while he has also dealt success- 
fully with the smaller oyster, M. imbricata, 
which is closely allied to our M. fucata. 
We have suggested the shores of the outer 
harbbur at Trincomalee— or Tamblegam Bay — 
as a suitable spot for experiments in Pearl 
Oyster culture. But Mr. Saville-Kent's 
practised eye, in conjunction with the great 
local experience of Capt. Donnan, wduld 
speedily decide which was the best site, 
whether in the Gulf of Mannar or on the 
Eastern side of the island. 
It only remains to mention that if, us we 
suggested at the local Asiatic Society's 
meeting, the Indian authorities wduld 
agree to join with the Ceylon Government 
in this Pearl-Oyster Enquiry and Experi- 
mental Culture, it ' might be possible to 
secure the counsel and aid of both Professor 
Herdman and Mr. Saville-Kent,— to have 
the former as Consulting Naturalist, coming 
out for a few months each year ; while 
Mr. Saville-Kent remained continuously in 
charge of the work undertaken. We think 
the interests at stake would fully warrant 
such a course, Ceylon has had as much 
revenue as R860,000 nett in one year from 
her " harvest " of pearl oysters, and that so 
recently as 1891 ; and India has also had 
handsome returns in the past ; while there 
are incipient fisheries at more than one 
point, besides the Gulf of Mannai% in her 
wide-extending coast between Kurrachee and 
the Malay Peninsula. Indian trade also 
benefits by the Pearl fisheries in the Per- 
sian Gulf and any good results from the pro- 
posed Scientific Enquiry could be freely 
utilised. If his Excellency the Governor can 
only succeed in interesting Lord Curzon in 
the matter, an investigation on the wider 
and more satisfactory scale might well be 
arranged for ; and there can be no doubt 
that conclusions arrived at by Professor 
Herdman and Mr. Saville-Kent in conjunc- 
tion, would be accepted by the whole scientific 
world as well as by the Governments con- 
cerned, as final — more especially as, we should 
hope, these results or conclusions would 
justify the outlay incurred by pointing to_a 
revival of prosperous Pearl-oyster fisheries 
Gulf of Mannar and at other points, 
