June i, 1892.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 897 
On the subjfict of fine and coarse plackinf, thern 
is a considerable nmouDt. of controversy io thu island, 
owing to the fact that aHhounh pluckinf? coarse enablos 
a planter to turu out large quantities of msiiufaotu e i 
tea, the quality is inferior, the coarse kavea being 
broken in tlie ro!lius[ process and mixing with the 
finer grades when being sifted, thus detracting from the 
appearance of the dry leaf and causing a deteriora- 
tion of the liqnor. The argument in favour of coarse 
plucking is ti) the effect that, in a''dic'on to tha 
initial cost being lea°, quantity realising legs per lb. 
is more remunerative thfin a less quantity of a superior 
quality, und it is ov/'ing to this view of the case beinc; 
mostly in favnur, that fcuoh large qu'ntiti'^s of com- 
mon teas have been shippod to Lo idon during th" 
past ye-ir. Planters are nlive to the fact that ship- 
ping these commfin (eaa ia injurious to tl.o reputaiiou 
of the isliuul, and in all probability this viow, coupled 
with the strong denmnd for fine Ocylon teas and 
tlie high prices being obtained for tbtee, will provail 
in the end,— I am. etc. Tayelm. 
—m^C. Herald, March 25th. 
"FLSIIING FOR PEARLS IX 
AUSTRALIA." 
Tha article so headed in the Century Magaziiu 
ought to have been entitled, " Fi^hini? for MoihT- 
of. Pearl Shell?." The writer, Mr. Hubert Phelps 
Whitemaroh, an Am°rioan, spcakg of those largo sheila 
as if they were the exoluisive source of the pearls of 
oomra9roe and atJornment ; aUhous!h he Btatefi that ten 
tons of them are sometimes opened without the finding 
of a single pearl. In the case of the tnio pearl 
oystfrr it is rarely the cafe th>it 100, weighing 
about 10 lb., are opened without some pearls, 
" seed pearls " at least, being f-^u 'd. Had Mr. 
Whitemareh added a study of the literature of the 
Bubjact to his practioal experienoe, he would have 
known that the large shells, Avicula (meleagrina) 
marydrilifera, are sought for and valued primarily 
on acaouit of the masses of mother ot-pearl they 
yield, asid only fecmdarily for the sakfl of the 
pearlo oocasionnlly found in them. On the other 
hand the true pearl oyster (reilly a mu=ipe1), 
Avicula (meleajiriua) fucata, is, from its small size 
of little or no value for mother-cf pearl purposes, 
but ia immensely superior as a psarl yielder. 
Banks cf this mollusk exist off the coast 
of Western Australia, an well as in Ceylon, 
the Persian Gulf and other places, the Ceylon banks 
baing probably tha most productive. The interest 
ot the paper in the Century Magazine ia not 
aaientific but prantioal, being written by a man 
who not only took part in "pearling" as the 
pursuit ii called, hut actually dived (in a diving 
dress) in saaroh of the precious eh dls, when he 
lost the services ot the man he had employed from 
the prevaleot curse of drunkenness. Experience in 
these Australian fisheries confirms the cmolusions 
arrive J at by those who have watched the fisheries 
on the north-west cosst of Oeylon, that beyond a 
depth of tan fathoms it ia not safe for an ordinary, 
unprote';tod diver to go. Pevon t-ithoms is (he 
average on the Coylon banks. At greater depths 
there i^ not only danger from the pre3,=;ure of the 
Biiperinouiiibent wat^r but from the coMness of 
the tomjiPialuro. For greater depths than ten 
(athom.t, thorcf ire, the Maliy diver.s are renlaood 
in Anatralia by Kuropeans protected by the diving 
apparntu j of indiarubher dross, metal bohuet', glass 
face piooo, pipo.«, air pumps, &■■). The hamrda 
which such divers run are vividly described. The 
ii:u3trati<>n3 given with the article inolu le : 
— a picture of the shells of the oyster ; 
native divers (with neither a'.ring, stono, nor 
basket) : exumiriing the catch ; diver and turtle ; 
diver and shnrk ; divor (i.n diving dros?) at a depth 
ol 100 feet; finding the bottle (with an adver- 
tisement on it !) ; after a squ=iU ; and necklace of 
diamonds and American p arls. The obviousness 
of this latter illustration to Australian "pearling " 
is not eo apparent as the beauty of the ornament. 
Omitting praf ibory m'ltter on the general history 
of pearls, and the erroneous atatemont that 
the true pearls ot fashion are yielded only by the 
so-called pearl-oyster, or mother-of-pearl shell, — 
the mo'her-of-pearl shell not being the true pearl 
oyster, — we proceed to extract as follows : — 
Around the northern and western coasts of Austra- 
lia the motlier-of-]peai-l shell has been fonnd in great 
quantities, and it was on these coasts, which are still 
unexplored, and inhabited only by natives, that the 
writer gained what knowledge he possesses of pearl- 
diving as it is followed today. 
Formerly it was carried on in two ways, by native 
divers and by dress-divers. A few years ago the 
aborigines were easily induced to sign a contract 
binding them to their employer for the diving season, 
and in remuneration for their labour received the 
iisnal pay — food, tobacco, clothing from the neck to 
the knees, and a blanket. They lived aboard a 
schooner on the fishing-grounds during the five sum- 
mer months, diving from small boats without the 
aid of sinker or other appendage, and in water 
fi'om twenty to sixty feet deep. Each boat was in 
charge of a white man, who sculled the boat along 
and kept his "boys" up to the mark. Excepting an 
hour for dinner, they remained away from the 
scliooner from sunrise to sunset. A good native 
diver, if shells were moderately plentiful, would get 
from sixty to one hundred pairs per day. 
A curious feature among tlie native divers is that 
toward the end of the season their long, curly, jet- 
black hair becomes a straw color, presumably through 
the action of the salt water and the sun, and forms a 
ludicrous contrast to their intensely black faces and 
bodies. Since bleaching the hair has become a "fad" 
among civilized nations, perhaps the above recipe 
may prove useful to some of my readers. 
Native divers are not in much request at this time, 
owing to the shell being pretty well worked out in 
shallow waters, and it has been found by long practical 
experience that naked native divers cannot work with 
any degree of success beyond a depth of ten fathoms. 
For this reason it will be readily understood that, as 
the greater part of the shells now found have to be 
searched for at a depth of water exceeding ten 
fathoms, they can be obtained only by means of the 
well-known diving-dress. 
During three years spent on the coast of Western 
Australia I never knew an instance where an abori- 
gine had been broken in to work in a diving-dress, 
their objection to it arising from some superstition. 
Tlie greatest deptli at which pearl-shells were found 
in payable quantities when I left, in 1888, was 
eighteen fathoms, and the main portion of the diving 
is now done by white men and a few Mongolians. 
Dress-diving is by far the most approved method, 
as the diver can remain under water an hour or two 
if he chooses, can dive mucli deeper than the natives, 
and is able to work all the year round. 
Ttie difference between the mother-of-pearl sheila 
and tha true oyster shells becomes pronounced 
when we are told that a pair of the former woiKh 
about two pounds, while it is certain that a pair 
of the latter (sheila only in both cases) ran.Ht be 
under two ounces. The former sell for £10*^ to 
.£150 per ton, while the latter are left in thousands 
of milions on the beach opposite the Ceylon banks, 
with no demand for them even as souroea of 
lime. To q'lote acain : — 
One of the most essential adjuncts to a dress- 
diver's outfit is ft good "tender." It is he who 
manages the boat, holds the life-line, and looks 
after the general safety of the diver when below. 
A tender ninst keep his weather-eye open for squalls 
and collisions, must attend to signals, and must 
not got his man mixed up with a diver from another 
boat. He should so hold the lino that he just 
