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SOURCES OF PEARLS
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hard concretions of a spherical form. In the apology for his book, prison-bound Bunyan wrote :
A pearl may in a toad's head dwell, And may be found in an oyster shell.
The
crystal gems—the diamonds, rubies, etc.—are practically unlimited in
their longevity, existing thousands of years unchanged in condition.
Except those which have been discovered by man, the earth contains
about as many as it ever did, and it is not unreasonable to suppose
that in course of time a considerable percentage of the total will be
discovered. But in the seas as well as in the rivers, the longevity of
pearls is greatly restricted, and
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear *
to
run their course of existence and decay unseen and unknown. Perishable
while in the seas, almost as cereals and fruits on land, the harvest
must be gathered with promptness or it is wasted. And it seems probable
that only a small percentage of the beautiful gems produced in the
waters have gladdened the sight of man.
With
considerable hesitancy we have attempted to estimate the number of
persons employed in the pearl fisheries of the world, and the aggregate
local value of their catch. For two or three regions, this is not a
matter of great difficulty. For instance, the divers employed in the
Ceylon fishery are numbered each season, and the auction sales of their
catch furnish a reasonably satisfactory basis for determining the
value of the output. Likewise in Australia, Venezuela, and some minor
localities, the fishermen are numbered ; but the reports are less
satisfactory as to the value of the pearls. In the Persian Gulf, the
Red Sea, the Gulf of California, and the islands of the Pacific, where
pearl-diving is a profession and a regular source of livelihood, the
number of employees is fairly constant. But in the rivers and ponds of
America, as well as of Europe and of Asia, where neither experience
nor costly equipment is required for the industry, and pearls to the
value of very many thousands of dollars are obtained by men, women, and
even children, on pleasure bent, as well as in the widely fluctuating
professional fisheries, the problem is far more difficult.
Contending
with these many difficulties, we venture to present the following
estimate of the number of persons employed in the pearl fisheries of
the world, and the value of the output in 1906.
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