affift in lifting up the divers and their fhells. The diving ftone is a piece of coarse granite, a foot long, fix inches thick, and of a pyramidical hape, round at the top and bottom. A large hair rope is put through a hole in the top. Some of the divers ufe another kind of ftone, fhaped like a half moon, to bind round their belly, fo that their feet may be free. At prefent thefe are articles of trade at Condátchey. The moft common, or pyramidical ftone, generally weighs abont thirty pounds. If a boat has more than five of them, the crew are either corporally punished or fined. fo The diving, both at Ceylon and at Tutucorin, is not attended with many difficulties as authors imagine. The divers, confifting of different cafts and religions, (though chiefly of Parrawer and Muffulmans,) neither make their bodies fmooth with oil, nor do they ftop their ears, mouths, or nofes, with any thing, to prevent the entrance of falt water. They are ignorant of the utility of diving bells, bladders, and double flexible pipes. According to the injunctions of the thark conjurer they ufe no food while at work, nor till they return on fhore, and have bathed themfelves in fresh water. Thefe Indians, accustomed to dive from their earliest infancy, fearleffly defcend to the bottom in a depth of, from five to ten fathoms, in fearch of treasures. By two cords a diving ftone and a net are connected with the boat. The diver putting the toes of his right foot on the hair. rope of the diving ftone, and thofe of his left on the net, feizes the two cords with one hand, and fhutting his noftrils with the other, plunges into the water. On reaching the bottom, he hangs the net round his neck, and collects into it the pearlfhells as faft as poffible, during the time he finds himself able to remain under water, which ufually is about two minutes. He then refumes his former posture, and making a fignal, by pulling the cords, he is immediately lifted into the boat. On emerging from the fea, he discharges a quantity of water from his mouth and nole, and thofe who have not been long enured to diving frequently difcharge fome blood; but this does not prevent them from diving again in their turn. When the first five divers come up and are refpiring the other five are going down with the fame ftones. Each brings up about one hundred oifters in his net, and if not interrupted by any accident, may make fifty trips in a forenoon, They and the boat's crew get generally, from the owner, inftead of money, a fourth of the quantity they bring on fhore; but fome are paid in cash, according to agreement. The moft fkilful divers come from Collifh, on the coaft of Malabar; fome of them are fo much exercifed in the art, as to be able to perform it without the affiftance of the ufual weight; and for a handfome reward will remain under water for the space of feven minutes; this I faw performed by a Caffre boy, belonging to a citizen at Karical, who had often frequented the fisheries of thefe banks. Though Dr. Halley deems this impoffible, daily experience convinces us, that, by long practice, any man * Fishermen of the Catholic religion. may may bring himfelf to remain under water above a couple of minutes. How much the inhabitants of the South-Sea-iflands diftinguifh themfelves in diving we learn from feveral accounts; and who will not be furprized at the wonderful Sicilian diver Nicholas, furnamed the Fish? Every one of the divers, and even the most expert, entertain a great dread of the fharks, and will not, on any account, defcend until the conjuror has performed his ceremonies. This prejudice is fo deeply rooted in their minds, that the government was obliged to keep two fuch conjurors always in their pay, to remove the fears of their divers. Thirteen of these men were now at the fishery from Ceylon and the coaft, to profit by the fuperftitious folly of thefe deluded people. They are called in Tamul, Pillal Kadtar, which fignifies one who binds the fharks and prevents them from doing mischief. The manner of enchanting confifts in a number of prayers learned by heart, that nobody, probably not even the conjuror himself, understands, which he, standing on the fhore, continues muttering and grumbling from fun rife until the boats return; during this period, they are obliged to abftain from food and fleep, otherwise their prayers would have no avail, they are, however, allowed to drink, which privilege they in dulge in a high degree, and are frequently fo giddy, as to be ren dered very unfit for devotion. Some of the conjurers accompany the divers in their boats, which pleafes them very much, as they have their protectors near at hand. Nevertheless, I was told, that in one of the preceding fisheries, a diver loft his leg by a fhark, and when the head conjurer was cal led to an account for the acci dent, he replied that an old witch had juft come from the coaft, who, from envy and malice, had caufed this difafter, by a counter-conjuration, which made fruitlefs his fkill, and of which he was informed too late; but he afterwards fhewed his fuperority by enchanting the poor fharks fo effec tually, that though they appeared in the midft of the divers, they were unable to open their mouths. During my ftay at Condutchy, no accident of this kind happened. If a fhark is feen, the divers immediately make a fignal, which, on perceiving, all the boats return in ftantly. A diver who trod upon a hammer oifter, and was fomewhat wounded, thought he was bit by a fhark, confequently made the ufual fignal, which caufed many boats to return; for which mistake he was afterwards punished. The owners of the boats + fometimes fell their oifters, and at other times open them on their own account. In the latter case some put * According to Kircher, he fell a victim amongst the polypes, in the gulph of Charybdis, on his plunging, for the second time, in its dangerous whirlpool, both to fatif. fy the curiofity of his king, Frederick, and his inclination for wealth. I will not pretend to determine, how far this account has been exaggerated. Thefe are the individuals which farm one or more boats from the renter; and though they are in poffeffion of them only during the fishery, they are commonly called the owners of the boats. them on mats in a fquare, furrounded with a fence; others dig holes of almoft a foot deep, and throw them in till the animal dies; after which they open the fhells and take out the pearls with more eafe. Even these squares and holes are fold by auction after the fishery is finished, as pearls often remain there, mixed with the land. any In spite of every care, tricks in picking out the pearls from the oifters can hardly be prevented. In this the natives are extremely dexterous. The following is one mode they put in practice to effect their purpose: when a boat owner employs a number of hired people to collect pearls, he places over them an infpector of his own, in whom he can confide; these hirelings previously agree that one of them fhall play the part of a thief, and bear the punishment, to give his comrades an opportunity of pilfering. If one of the gang happens to meet with a large pearl, he makes a fign to his accomplices, who inftantly conveys away one of fmall value, purpofely, in fuch a manner as to attract notice. On this the infpector and the rest of the men take the pearl from him: he is then punished and turned out of their company. In the mean time, while he is making a dreadful uproar, the real thief fecures the valuable pearl, and afterwards the booty is fhared with him who fuffered for them all. Befides tricks like these the boatowners and purchasers often lofe many of the best pearls, while the dony is returning from the bank; for, as long as the animal is alive and untouched, the fhells are frequently open near an inch; and if of them contain a large pearl, it is easily discovered and taken out by means of a small piece of stiff grafs or bit of ftick, without hurting the pearl-fifh. In this practice they are extremely expert. Some of them were discovered whilft I was there, and received their due punishment. Gmelin afks if the animal of the mytilus margaritiferus is an afcidia? See Linn. Syft. Nat. tom. I. p. vi. 3350. This induces me to believe that it has never yet been accurately defcribed: it does not refemble the afcidia of Linnæus, and may, perhaps, form a new genus. It is faftened to the upper and lower thells by two white flat pieces of mufcular fubftance, which are called by Houttuin * ears, and extend about two inches from the thick part of the body, growing gradually thinner. The extremity of each ear lies loofe, and is furrounded by a double brown fringed line. Thele lie almoft the third of an inch from the outer part of the fell, and are continually moved by the animal. Next to thefe, above and below, are fituated two other double fringed moveable fubftances, like the branchiæ of a fish. Thele ears and fringes are joined to a cylindrical piece of flesh, of the fize of a man's thumb, which is harder and of a more mufcular nature than the rest of the body. It lies about the centre of the fhells, and is firmly attached to the middle of each.-This, in fact, is that part of the pearl-fish which serves to open and hut the fhells. Where this column is faftened, we find on the floth deep impreffions, and on the fhell various nodes of round or oblong *Vide Houtt. Nat. Hift. Vol. I. p. xv. p. 81, feq. forms forms, like imperfect pearls. Be tween this part, and the hinge (cardo) lies the principal body of the animal, feparated from the reft, and shaped like a bag. The mouth is near the hinge of the fhell, enveloped in a veil, and has a double flap or lip on each fide; from thence we obferve the throat (cefophagus) defcending like a thread to the ftomach. Clofe to the mouth there is a carved brownish tongue, half an inch in length, with an obtufe point; on the concave fide of this defcends a furrow, which the animal opens and fhuts, and probably ufes to convey food to its mouth. * Near its middle are two bluish fpots, which feem to be the eyes. In a pretty deep hole, near the tape of the tongue, lies the beard (byffus), faftened by two fleshy roots, and confifting of almoft one hundred fibres, each an inch long, of a dark green colour, with a metallic luftre; they are undivided, parallel, and flattened. In general the byffus is more than three quarters of an inch, without the cleft (rima); but if the animal is difturbed, it contracts it confiderably. The top of each of thefe threads terminates in a circular gland or head, like the Aygma of many plants. With this buffus they faften themselves to rocks, corals, and other folid bodies; by it the young pearl-fish cling to the old ones, and with it the animal procures its food, by extending and contracting it at pleasure. Small fhell-fith, on which they partly live, are often found clinging to the former. The ftomach lies close to the root of the beard, and has, on its lower fide, a protracted obtufe point. Above the ftomach are two small red bodies, like lungs; and from the ftomach goes a long channel or gut, which takes a circuit round the mufcular column above-mentioned, and ends in the anus, which lies oppofite to the mouth, and is covered with a fmall thin leaf, like a flap. Though the natives pretend to diftinguish the fexes, by the appearance of the fhell, I could not find any genitalia. The large flat ones they call males, and those that are thick, concave, and vaulted, they call females, or pedoo-chippy; but, on a clofe inspection, I could not obferve any vifible fexual difference. It is remarkable that fome of these animals are as red as blood, and that the infide of the shell has the fame colour, with the ufual pearly luftre, though my fervants found a redish pearl in an oister of this colour; yet fuch an event is very rare. The divers attribute this redness to the fickness of the pearl-fish; though it is moft probable that they had it from their firft exiftence. In the fhade they will live twenty-four hours after being taken out of the water. This animal is eaten by the lower clafs of Indians, either fresh in their curries, or cured by drying; *The depth at which the pearl fish generally is to be found, hindered me from paying any attention to the locomotive power, which I have not the leaft doubt it poffeffés, ufing for this purpofe its tongue. This conjecture is ftrengthened by the accurate obfervations made on mufcles by the celebrated Reaumur, in which he found that this body ferves them as a leg or arm, to move from one place to another. Though the divers are very ignorant with regard to the economy of the pearl-fish, this changing of habitation has been long fince obferved by them. They alledge, that it alters its abode when difturbed by an enemy or in fearch of food. In the former cafe they fay it commonly defcends from the fummit of the bank to its declivity. in which ftate they are exported to the coaft; though I do not think them by any means palatable. Within a mother of pearl-fhell I found thirteen murices nudati (vide Chemnitz's New System, Cabt. vol. XI. tab. 192, f. 1851 and 1852), the largest of which was three quarters of an inch long; but as many of them were putrid, and the pearl-fifh itself dead, I could not afcertain whether they had crept in as enemies, or were drawn in by the animal itself. At any rate turtles and crabs are inimical to the animals, and a small living crab was found in one of them. The pearls are only in the fofter part of the animal, and never in that firm mufcular column abovementioned. We find them in general near the earth, and on both fides of the mouth. The natives entertain the fame foolish opinion concerning the formation of the pearl which the ancients did. They fuppofe them formed from dewdrops in connection with fun-beams. A Brahmen informed me that it was recorded in one of his Sanfcrit books, that the pearls are formed in the month of May at the appearance of the Sooatee ftar (one of their twenty-feven conftellations) when the oifters come up to the furface of the water, to catch the drops of rain. One of the moft celebrated conchologifts, fuppofes that the pearl is formed by the oifter in order to defend itself from the attacks of the pholades and boreworms. But we may be affured that in this fup pofition he is mistaken, for although thefe animals often penetrate the outer layers of the pearl-fhell, and there occafion hollow nodes, yet, VOL. XLI. * on examination, it will be found, that they are never able to pierce the firm laver, with which the infide of the hell is lined. How can the pearls be formed as a defence against exterior worms, when, even on fhells that contain them, no worm-holes are to be feen? It is, therefore, more probable thefe worms take up their habitations in the nodes, in order to protect themfelves from the attacks of an enemy, than that they are capable of preying on an animal, fo well defended as the pearl-fish is. It is unneceffary to repeat the various opinions and hypothefis of other modern authors; it is much easier to criticile them, than to substitute in their place a more rational theory. That of Reaumur, mentioned in the memoirs of the French Academy for 1712, is the most probable, viz. that the pearls are formed like bezoars and other ftones in different animals, and are apparently the effects of a disease. In fhort it is very evident, that the pearl is formed by an extravafation of a glutinous juice either within, the body, or on the furface of the animal: the former cafe is the most common. Between one and two hundred pearls have been found within one oifter. Such extravafations may be caufed by heterogeneous bodies fuch as fand, coming in with the food, which the animal, to prevent difagreeable friction, covers with its glutinous matter, and which as it is fucceffively fecreted forms many regular lamellæ, in the manner of the coats of an onion, or like different ftrata of bezoars, only much thiner; this is probable, for if we cut through the centre of a pearl, we often find The rev. Mr. Chemnitz, at Copenhagen. C c a foreign |