Junk i, 1892.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
897 
On the subject ot fine and coarse plnokinp, there 
is a conaiderai)le amount of controversy in the island, 
owiop; to the fsotthat alihongb plucking coarse enahlcs 
a planter to turn out laree quantities of maimfactii el 
tea, the quality is interior, the coarse leave* being 
broken in the rolling process and mixing with the 
finer grades when being sifted, ihno detracting from the 
appearance of (ho dry leaf and causing a deteriora- 
tion of the liqnor. The argument in favour of coarse 
plucking is to the effect that, in addit'on to the 
initial cost being lea*, quantity realising lees per lb. 
is more remunerative th in a le-is quantity of a superior 
quality, and it is owing to this view of the case being 
mostly io favonr, that such large quantities i f com- 
mon teas have been shipped to IiO idon dnriug the 
past yorr. Planters are slivo to the fact that ship- 
ping these common teas is injurious to the reputation 
of the island, and in nil probability this view, coiiplod 
with the stro ng demand for fine Oeylon teas and 
the high pri.'os being obtained for these, will prevail 
in the end, — I am, etc. TaYKi.r.i. 
— fjera/d, March 25th. 
'• l''l,‘iiriNfi FOB PBABfiS IX 
.M’STK.VLIA." 
The article bo h'aded in the Century .Wagazin} 
ought to have been entitled, “ Fishing for Moth“r- 
of Pearl Shells.” The writer, Mr. Hubert Phsipg 
Whitemaroh, an Amerioan, spoaka ot thoae Large sheila 
aa if they were the extlnaive source of the pecrla of 
oorameroe and adornment ; although he states that ten 
tona of them are sometimes opened without the finding 
of a single pearl. In the case ot the true pearl 
oyster it is rarely the on'e that 100, weighing 
about 10 lb , ora opened withoot some pearls, 
"seed pearls” at least, being ( 'U d. Had Mr. 
Whitemaroh added a study of the literature of the 
Bubjeot to his practical experienne. he would have 
known that the large shells, Aviciila (meleagrina) 
wargarilifcra, are Bought for and valued primarily 
on acoount ot the masses of mother of-pearl they 
yield and only reoondarily for tho sake of the 
pearls oocnsionally found in them. On tho other 
hand tho (rue pearl oyster (really a mueeol), 
Avifiila {nieleugrina) fuc/ita, is, from its small size 
of little or no value (or raothor-of pearl purposes, 
but is iiniuensely superior as a pearl yiel.Ier. 
Banka of this mollusk exist off the coast 
of Western Australia, as well as in Ceylon, 
tho Persian Gulf and other plaoes, the Ceylon banka 
being probably the most prodnotive. The interest 
of tho paper in the Century Magazine is not 
seientific hut practioal, being written by a man 
who riot only took part in “pearling" as the 
pursuit is called, hut ao'.ually dived (in a diving 
dress) in search ot the pracious eh Ha. when he 
lost the services of tho man he had employed from 
the prevalent curse of drunkenness. Exporionoo in 
these AiiJtralian fisheries confirms the eonolusiona 
arrivel at by those who have watched the fisheries 
on the north west ooast of Oeylon. that beyond a 
depth of ton fathoms it is not safe for an ordinary, 
unpreteeted diver to go. Peven fathoms is the 
average on the Ceylon banks At greater dopiba 
* tore IS not ortly danger from the pressure of tho 
Buperinoumbont water but from the ooldness ot 
>e tempoiature. For greater depths than ten 
atuoms, therefore, the Malay divcr.e are tonlaoed 
>n Australia by Ruropoans protected by the diving 
pparatus of iudiariibber dress, metal helmet, glass 
wv pipes, air pumps, ,ta. The hazards 
nioh such divers run are vividly desorihed. The 
I ustrations given with the article inolii le : 
nnr of the shells of the oyster ; 
ha t (with neither string, stone, nor 
asket) ; examining the oatoh ; diver and turtle ; 
• Ver and shark ; diver (in diving dross) at a depth 
of 100 feet ; finding the bottle (with an adver- 
tisement on it I) ; after a squall ; and necklaoa of 
diamonds and Amorioan p aria. The obviouBuesa 
of this latter illustration to Australian “psarling " 
is not so apparent as the beauty of the ornament. 
Omitting prof itory matter on tho general history 
of pearls, and the erroneous statement that 
the truB pearls of fashion are yielded only by tho 
BO-oallod pearl-oyster, or mother-of-pearl shell, — 
the mo her-of-pearl shell not being the true pearl 
oyster, — we proceed to exlraet aa follows : — 
Around the northern and western coasts of Austra- 
lia the mother-of-pearl shell has been found 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 remuueration (or their labour received the 
usual pay— food, tobacco, clothing from tho neck to 
the knees, and a lilanket. 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 
from twenty to sixty feet deep. Kach boat was in 
charge of a white man, who sculled the boat along 
and kept his “ boys” np to the mark. Excepting an 
hour for dinuor, they remained away from the 
schooner from satirise to sunsot. A good native 
diver, if shells were moderately plentiful, would get 
from sixty to one hundred pairs per day. 
A curious feature among the native divers is that 
toward the end of the season their long, curly, jet- 
black hair becomes a straw color, presuinablv through 
the action of the salt water and the sun, and forms a 
ludicrous contrast to their intensely black faces and 
bodies. Since blBacliiug tho 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 urork with 
any degree of success beyond a depth of ten fathoms. 
I'or this reason it will bo readily understood that, as 
the theater part of the shells now found have to he 
searched for at a depth of water exceeding ten 
fathoms, they can be obtained only by means of tho 
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. 
The greatest depth at which pearl-shells wore found 
in payable quantities when I left, in 1888, was 
eighteen fathoms, and the main portion of the diviug 
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 liour or two 
if he chooses, can dive much deeper than tho natives, 
and is able to work all tho year round. 
The difference between the mother-of-peail shells 
and the true oyster shells heonraea pronounced 
when wo are told that a pair of the former weigh 
about two pounds, while it ie certain that a piir 
of the latter (shells only in both cases) must be 
under two onnooa. The former sell for ilOd to 
ill50 per ton, while the lattrr are left in thousands 
ot milions on the beach opposite the Ceylon banks, 
with no demand for them even as sources of 
lime. To quote again 
Olio of the most essential adjuncts to a dress- 
diver's outfit is a good "tendor.” It is ho who 
manages tlio boat, holds the life-line, and looks 
after the general safety of the diver when below. 
A tender must keep his weather-eye open for squalls 
and oollisiona, must attend to signals, and must 
not got his man mixed up with a diver from another 
boat. lie should so hold tho lino that he just 
