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THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
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and the other is the Placuna placenta, found in many places in this presidency, and especially in Pulicat Lake and in the vicinity of Tuti-corin.
The
Sonnapore mussels, which are small and bright green in color, are found
adhering to the masses of edible oysters in depths of ten or twelve
feet of water. They are caught in a novel manner, as described in a
letter from the acting collector of customs at Ganjam. Thrusting a long
bamboo pole deep into the bottom of the reef, the fisherman dives down,
and holding on to this bamboo, breaks off as large a mass of the
oysters as he can bring to the surface in one hand, helping himself up
the bamboo pole with the other. Removing the mussels from the mass, he
opens them with a suitable knife and by running his thumbs and fingers
over the flesh tissues, detects the pearls therein. These pearls are of
very inferior quality and of little ornamental value. They are sold
mostly for chunâm and for placing in the mouth of deceased Hindus.
Along
the west coast of India, in the Bombay presidency, a few pearls are
found at various places, but the output is of slight value. The most
important of these is off the coast of Nawanagar, on the south side of
the Gulf of Cutch, where the true pearl-oyster is found.
According
to the "Jamnagar Diwan," the yearly value of the Nawanagar fisheries
is about Rs.4000. This is smaller than formerly, as the reefs are in a
depleted state; to give them a chance to recuperate, a close season was
established in 1905. The oysters are found along a coast-line eighty
miles in length extending from Mangra, near Jodya Bunder, to Pindera in
the Gulf of Cutch, and also about the islands of Ajad, Chauk, Kalumbar,
and Nora, which are also situated in the Cutch Gulf. They are not
procured by diving, but are gathered off the rocks when the tide is
out. During the monsoon, the collection is limited to eight days in the
month; i.e., from the twelfth to the fifteenth of each half according to the Hindu calendar.
The fisheries are by law restricted exclusively to the waghers of
ten villages, which are Varinar, Sashana, Sika, Balachedi, Jhakher,
Sarmat, Bharana, Salaya, Chudesar, and Bedi. The collection of the
pearls is left entirely to these men, who at Divala—the Hindu new
year—bring all the pearls gathered by them to the durbar. There an
estimate is made of their value, one fourth of which is paid to the waghers, and
the pearls are turned over to the representatives of the state treasury
for sale. This method of conducting the industry has been long
established. In recent years the government experimented in farming out
the revenue, but the old custom has been resumed in order to placate
the native fishermen.
A few pearl-oysters are also found on the Ratnagiri coast below
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