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THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
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70,000
dollars. "Considering the turbulent and piratical habits of the natives
of the Sulu group, it is certain that a greater share of skill and
industry than can at present be applied to the fisheries, would greatly
enhance the value and amount of their produce." 1
In
the Sulu Archipelago, the pearl-oyster reefs exist from Sibütu Pass to
Basilan Strait, and roughly cover an estimated area of 15,000 square
miles; that is, in the most favorable localities throughout this area,
pearl-oysters occur to a greater or less extent. The fisheries are
prosecuted by Malays and Chinese, and are largely centered at Sulu.
Pearl-oysters
occur about many other islands. They exist at Maimbun and Parong ; and
also off the island of Tapul and its neighbor Lagos, both southwest of
Maimbun. In the channels among these islands, on the rocky gravelly
bottom where there is a good current, oysters are commonly found. They
also occur off Laminusa, northeast of Tawi-Tawi, at Cuyo Island, and
in the waters about Malam-paya and Bacuit.
The large mother-of-pearl oyster (Margaritifera maxima) known locally as concha de nacr, is
by far the most abundant. When full-grown in this region it is
ordinarily between ten and thirteen inches in diameter. The young
oyster attaches itself to the bottom by means of the green byssus ; but
after attaining a weight of one pound, it is too heavy to be easily
moved by the tide, and the ligature gradually disappears. The
Australian "black lip" (Margaritifera margaritifera), known here as concha de nagra, is also found. In these waters it attains a diameter of about eight inches, but most specimens are considerably smaller.
There is another pearly shell in the Philippines, a spiral gasteropod known locally as caracoles, which
is ordinarily five or six inches in diameter, and has a beautiful
pearly surface. This yields very few pearls ; it is sought for
pearl-button manufacture, selling for about the same as the concha de nagra.
Streeter
states that it is declared by the natives of the Sulu Archipelago that
pearls of a yellowish hue have been found in the pearly nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), one
of the group of cephalopodous mol-lusks. As, however, there is a
superstition that they bring ill luck, the natives say that they throw
them away, believing that any one who should fight while wearing one of
these pearls in a ring, would certainly be killed. If we consider the
habits and organism of this remarkable animal, and the splendid
nacreous coating of its shell, the assertion that pearls are found m it
seems quite natural. Indeed, the occurrence of pearls in the pearly
nautilus is generally recognized.
* Crawfurd, "History of the Indian Archipelago," Edinburgh, 1820, Vol. Ill, p. 445.
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