they
roll out when the shell is opened. Valuable pearls are occasionally
removed from blisters on the surface of the shell, or from within the
body of the nacre itself. Even when empty, these blisters are valuable,
and are especially adapted for brooches and other ornaments requiring a
broad and relatively flat surface.
After
the flesh has been carefully examined throughout, it is discarded, as
it is not considered suitable for food, and the shell is dried for half
a day or so to make the hinge brittle in order that it may be broken
without injury to the mother-of-pearl. After the shell has been roughly
cleaned, it is placed in the hold, if the vessel is operating from a
shore station, as is commonly the case in Torres Straits. Since long
exposure to the sun affects the quality of the mother-of-pearl, it is
important that it be kept under cover. On returning to the station, it
is thoroughly cleaned, assorted, dried, the dark edges clipped off, and
the cleaned shell is packed in shipping cases, each containing from 250
to 325 pounds. On the west coast, where the vessels at times-operate
200 or 300 miles from port, the shell is cleaned, assorted and crated
on the vessels; whence it may be delivered direct to the steamers. The
Northwest shell is somewhat smaller than the mature shell of Torres
Straits, averaging about 1100 to the ton, whereas that of Thursday
Island runs about 725 to the ton.
It
is very difficult to prevent the theft of pearls by the fishermen as
they are liable to treat them as perquisites if not carefully watched.
Indeed, on the Torres Straits vessels it has come about that pearls do
not constitute a recognized source of income to the proprietors. There
the fishery is now conducted almost exclusively for the shells, as the
wage-earners secrete probably as many valuable pearls as they turn over
to the rightful owners. The hot sun causes many of the oysters to open,
and deft fingers quickly pick out such pearls as may be visible. An
oyster may be induced to open its shell by being held near the galley
fire on the lugger, and the insertion of a piece of cork holds it open
while a pearl is shaken out or hooked out by means of a piece of wire.
Then the cork is removed and the oyster closes again with no evidence
of robbery. The proprietors of boats who themselves open the oysters
almost invariably secure larger yields of fine pearls than those who
depend on paid employees, who rarely have the luck to find choice
pearls, judging from what they turn in. The government of Queensland
has endeavored to put a stop to pearl stealing, and by enactment1
of 1891, it restricted all selling or buying of pearls within the
fishing region except through regularly licensed dealers, whose
transactions are open to examination.
But the fishermen seem to have little difficulty in evading the laws,
*55 Victoriae, No. 29.
