Our
returns do not represent the annual output of pearls in the values best
known to gem buyers. The difference in price between pearls in the
fisherman's hands in the Persian Gulf or at the Pacific islands, and
that for which they are exchanged over the counters in New York or
Paris, is nearly as great as the difference in value of wool on the
sheep's back and of the same material woven into fashionÂable fabrics.
For each dollar received by the fisherman, the retail buyer probably
pays three; and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the pearls
herein represented probably sold ultimately for an aggregate of $24,420,000.
This
summary falls far short in giving a correct idea of the imÂportance of
the pearl fisheries in furnishing a livelihood to humanity; for it
takes no consideration of that great body of men who contribute
incidentally to the prosecution of the fisheries, such as shell-openers,
