PEARL-FISHERY IN CEYLON.

several pearls, and one is on record, as having produced one hundred and fifty. The pearl itself is probably the result of some accidental deposite or extravasation of the liquor secreted by the animal, in the gradual enlargement of its shell,-very small in the first instance, but increased by successive layers of pearly matter.

and glutinous: the inside of the shell (the real The country round Aripo, on the northwestern "mother of pearl,") is even brighter and more beaucoast of the island of Ceylon, is flat, sandy, and bar-tiful than the pearl itself: the outside smooth and ren, presenting nothing to the eye, but low brush-dark-coloured. The pearls are most commonly wood, chiefly of thorns and prickly pears (amongst contained in the thickest and most fleshy part of which is the plant that nourishes the Cochineal), the oyster. A single oyster will frequently contain and here and there some straggling villages with a few cocoanut-trees. But Condaachty, three miles distant, where, in general, nothing is to be seen but a few miserable huts, and a sandy desert, becomes, during the period of the pearl-fishery, a populous town, several streets of which extend upwards of a mile in length (though as the houses are only intended as a shelter from the sun and rain, they are very rudely constructed), and the scene, altogether, resembles a crowded fair on the grandest scale. The people most active in erecting huts and speculating in the various branches of merchandise, are Mohammedans, Cingalese (natives of Ceylon), and Hindoos from the opposite coast of the continent of India. Apparently, however, from their natural timidity, none of the Cingalese are divers, and scarcely any of them engage in the other active parts of the fishery: they merely resort hither for the purpose of supplying the markets.

About the end of October, in the year preceding a pearl-fishery, when a short interval of fine weather. prevails, an examination of the banks takes place. A certain number of boats, under an English superintendent, repair in a body to each bank, and having, by frequent diving, ascertained its situation, they take from one to two thousand oysters as a specimen. The shells are opened, and if the pearls col-fishes the banks entirely at its own risk; sometimes lected from a thousand oysters be worth three pounds sterling, a good fishery may be expected. The "banks" or beds of oysters, are scattered over a

Meleagrina Margaritifera. space in the gulf of Manaar, extending thirty miles from north to south, and twenty-four from east to west. There are fourteen beds (not all, however, productive), of which the largest is ten miles long, and two broad. The depth of water is from three to fifteen fathoms.

The pearl-oysters in these banks are all of one species, and of the same form: in shape not very unlike our common English oyster, but considerably larger, being from eight to ten inches in circumference. The body of the animal is white, fleshy,

The insect from which our most beautiful scarlet dies are prepared.

The Meleagrina Margarilifera of Lamarck. VOL. III.-9

Inner view, showing the Pearls. Sometimes the English government of Ceylon

the boats are let to many speculators; but, most frequently, the right of fishing is sold to one individual, who sub-lets boats to others. The fishery for the seasor of the year 1804, was let by government to an individual for no less a sum than £120,000.

At the beginning of March, the fishery commenced, and upwards of two hundred and fifty boats were employed in the fishery alone. These, with their crews and divers, and completely equipped with every thing necessary to conduct the business of the fishing, come from different parts of the coast of Coromandel. After going through various ablutions and incantations, and other superstitious ceremonies, the occupants of these boats embark at midnight, guided by pilots, and as soon as they reach the banks, they cast anchor, and wait the dawn of day.

At about seven in the morning, when the rays of the sun begin to emit some degree of warmth, the diving commences. A kind of open scaffolding formed of oars and other pieces of wood, is projected from each side of the boat, and from it the divingtackle is suspended, with three stones on one side, and two on the other. The diving-stone hangs from an oar by a light rope and slipknot, and descends about five feet into the water. It is a stone of fifty-six pounds weight, of a sugarloaf shape. The rope passes through a hole in the top of the stone, about which a strong loop is formed, resembling a stirrup-iron, to receive the foot of the diver. The diver wears no clothes, except a slip of calico round his loins,-swimming in the water, he takes hold of the rope, and puts one foot into the loop or stirrup, on the top of the stone. He remains in this upright position for a little while, supporting himsel

another, and washed in the water. Those shells which have pearls adhering to them are thrown on one side, and afterwards handed to clippers, whose business it is to disengage the pearls from the shells, with pincers.

As soon as the sand is dry, it is sifted; the large pearls, being conspicuous, are easily gathered; but the separating the small and diminutive ("seed pearls," as they are called) is a work of considerable labour When once separated from the sand, washed with salt water, dried, and rendered perfectly clean, they are sorted into classes, according to their sizes, by being passed through sieves. After this, a hole is drilled through each pearl; they are arranged on strings, and are then fit for the market.

by the motion of one arm. Then a basket, formed of a wooden hoop and network, suspended by a rope, is thrown into the water to him, and in it he places his other foot. Both the ropes of the stone and the basket he holds for a little while in one hand. When he feels himself properly prepared When all the shells are thrown out, the slimy and ready to go down, he grasps his nostrils with substance of the oysters remains, mixed with sand one hand, to prevent the water from rushing in; and broken fragments of shells, at the bottom of the with the other gives a sudden pull to the running-knot vessel. The dirty water is lifted out in buckets, suspending the stone, and instantly descends: the and poured into a sack made like a gelly-bag, so remainder of the rope fixed to the basket is thrown that no pearls can be lost. Fresh water being then into the water after him, at the same moment: the added from time to time, and the whole substance rope attached to the stone is in such a position as to in the vessel continually agitated, the sand and follow him of itself. As soon as he touches the bot-pearls together are by degrees allowed to sink to tom, he disentangles his foot from the stone, which the bottom. is immediately drawn up, and suspended again to the projecting oar in the same manner as before, to be in readiness for the next diver. The diver, arrived at the bottom of the sea, throws himself as much as possible upon his face, and collects every thing he can get hold of into the basket. When he is ready to ascend, he gives a jerk to the rope, and the persons in the boat, who hold the other end of it, haul it up as speedily as possible. The diver, at the same time, free of every incumbrance, warps up by the rope, and always gets above water a consid- Pearls have been considered as valuable ornaerable time before the basket. He presently comes ments from the earliest times: they are often menup at a distance from the boat, and swims about, or tioned in the book of Job (xxviii. 18), and are often takes hold of an oar or a rope, until his turn comes alluded to by the classical writers. There have to descend again; but he seldom comes into the been various attempts made to imitate them sucboat, until the labour of the day is over. When a young cessfully, one of the most singular of which-known diver is training to the business, he descends in the to have been practised early in the Christian era, arms of a man completely experienced in the art, on the banks of the Red sea,—is still carried on in who takes great care of him, and shows him the China. A hole is bored in the shell of the pearlmanner of proceeding, and the pupil at first brings oyster, a piece of iron-wire inserted, and the oyster up in his hand a single oyster, a stone, or a little restored to its place: the animal, wounded by the sand, merely to show that he has reached the bot-point of the wire, deposites a coat of pearly matter tom. The length of time during which the divers remain under water, is rarely much more than a minute and a half; yet in this short period, in a ground richly clothed with oysters, an expert diver will often put as many as one hundred and fifty into his basket. There are two divers attached to each etone, so that they go down alternately: the one rests and refreshes, while the other plunges. The men, after diving, generally find a small quantity of blood issue from their nose and ears, which they consider as a favourable symptom, and perform the operation with greater comfort after the bleeding has commenced. They seem to enjoy the labour as a pleasant pastime, and never murmur or complain, unless when the banks contain a scarcity of oysters, though their labours are continued for six bours.

When the day is sufficiently advanced, the head pilot maks a signal, and the fleet set sail for the shore. All descriptions of people hasten to the water's edge to welcome their return, and the crowd, stir, and noise, are then immense. Every boat comes to its own station, and the oysters are carried into certain paved enclosures on the seashore, where they are allowed to remain in heaps (of course, well guarded) for ten days, that time being necessary to render them putrid. When the oysters are sufficiently decayed, they are thrown into a large vessel filled with salt water, and left there for twelve hours to soften their putrid substance. The oysters are then taken up, one by one, the shells broken from one

round it: this gradually hardens, successive layers are added, till a pearl of the requisite size is formed, and the shell is once more brought to land.

False pearls are made of hollow glass globules, the inside of which is covered with a liquid, called pearl-essence, and then filled with white wax. This liquid is composed of the silver-coloured particles, which adhere to the scales of the Bleak (Ablette), and was first applied to this purpose early in the last century by a Frenchman of the name of Jacquin.

In the year 1761, Linnæus discovered the art by which the muscles which are found in many of our rivers might be made to produce pearls: but we believe it has never been made publick. The muscles found in the river Conway, in Wales, and in some of the rivers of Scotland, have not unfrequently produced large and fine-coloured pearls.

Cordiner's History of Ceylon.

From the Western Monthly Magazine. POPULAR EDUCATION. Extract from an article on the Transactions of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Western Literary Institute, and College of Professional Teachers, held in Cincinnati, October, 1834. The plan for creating a publick sentiment in favour of education, by means of popular assemblies, seems to be the only one which promises success. There is no other way in which the attention of the people can, with equal facility, be attracted to the subject, or their sympathies enlisted in the great and holy

cause of popular instruction. Our legislatures will | great amount of knowledge within a small space, and not do much on the subject. They will pass any rendering it accessible to the student. They place law that one of their committees may report, for the the student in a focus, into which the rays of truth regulation of common schools; but they cannot be are collected, and brought to bear on him with prevailed upon to devote to the details of this matter intense power; they accumulate and hoard up the that severe investigation which would enable them scattered fragments of science and literature, for the to act upon it with intelligence and vigour. The use of those who choose to engage in the pursuit of truth is, that such is the value of a seat in the legis- learning. These effects are produced but in a small lature, and so great the difficulty of retaining it, that degree, by gathering together a few professors in members have enough to do to keep their places, different branches, who can only bring with them, without meddling in such small matters as popular and throw into the publick stock, the meager stores education. They have important party questions that memory has treasured up-extensive and valubefore them, which cannot be neglected, inasmuch able libraries alone can afford the desired facilities as the personal interests of themselves and their for the acquisition of a solid and complete education. friends are directly involved in the discussion; and Without these a college affords few advantages they cannot be expected to prefer to these, the which may not be derived from private instruction. claims of the children, who have no votes, nor any There is another improvement which must be means of resenting the injury done them in with-effected either by law or by publick sentiment, holding from them the means of instruction. before education will rise to its proper standard of "But," says some popular gentleman, who loves the excellence. The teacher must be paid. He must people, "we have schools in abundance, and laws to regulate them-what more do you want?" We reply, that we require education-we desire to see knowledge, accurate, useful knowledge, disseminated among the people, and rendered accessible to every human being within our borders. A mere school, in which a child is taught to read badly, and write worse, and in which he receives little instruction in any art or science, which may be made practically useful to him, in the business of life, is perhaps not worth what it costs-we doubt whether those who learn to read and write only, derive any benefit from these acquisitions, and whether entire want of instruction, is not better than such a smattering.

be valued at what he is worth. His services must be so estimated as to bear a due proportion to the labours of other men. If the school teacher be intrinsically worth to his employers no more than the day-labourer, and if no greater amount of talent and acquirement is demanded for the duties of the one than for those of the other, let them be paid alike; and let those who aspire to a more elevated standing, or who covet so much of the goods of this world as may be requisite to surround their firesides with the comforts and enjoyments of life, betake themselves to merchandise, or husbandry, or physick, or lawlet them plough the ocean, or pursue the mechanick arts let them do any thing but flog bad boys for a wretched living.

been to disseminate knowledge by rendering it cheap, when the endeavour should have been to render learning desirable by making it the road to wealth and honour, and giving solid advantages to its possessor. The people should be enlightened, but learning should not by the same process be degraded. The teacher should be made useful, but not by depreciating his services, and lowering the dignity of his office.

If we are asked what our legislatures can do for education, more than they have done, we reply, that The efforts of the friends of education have, in there is no subject upon which legislation could be this respect, been misdirected. The whole tenextended more widely, or exerted more beneficially.dency of their measures, for the last few years, has The man who, having a seat in such a body, would make this great question his chief object, devoting to it the same degree of attention which some members devote to the diurnal changes in the political atmosphere, might become as great a benefactor to his country as Fulton, and earn a fame which would be as lasting as the republick. It is not enough for the legislature to pass laws allowing the people to tax themselves, for the establishment of schools. They should act on the subject directly-they should give dignity and interest to the cause, by making it a prominent subject of discussion-they should aid in the diffusion of literature and science, and should elevate and give efficiency to the office of teacher. A few thousand dollars given annually to our colleges, to increase their libraries, would invigorate the usefulness of these institutions, and awaken publick interest in their favour, to an extent that would hardly be anticipated by those who have not reflected on that matter. What would it be to the state of Ohio, or to Kentucky, to give ten or twenty thousand dollars annually to her colleges to be expended in accumulating valuable libraries? Yet with this trifling assistance these institutions would rise in importance, would allure students from a distance, would command the talents of the most highly gifted gentlemen as professors, and would exert a salutary influence throughout all the ramifications of the widely-extended scheme of popular instruction.

Colleges derive their value from concentrating a

The highest exertions of the human mind cannot be purchased in any department of business, without an equivalent. The man who is conscious of the possession of talents, or ingenuity, throws himself into that employment, in which, by the exertion of these qualities, he may reap wealth or honour. The merchant, the lawyer, the mechanick, labour with energy, cheerfulness, and zeal, devoting all the powers of their minds to their respective pursuits, because the comforts of competency, and the dignity of wealth, shine brightly in the distant perspective; but no man can thus toil, whose daily earnings barely supply his diurnal wants, and who is not cheered by the hope of wealth, or the anticipation of triumph. No man who has talent, spirit, or prudence, is content with a bare subsistence; a mere competency will never kindle the ambition of genius, or even satisfy the just desires of a well-regulated mind. The pay of teachers should be so regulated as to afford present comfort, and hold out the rewards of future wealth and promotion.

To accomplish the objects which we have suggested as desirable, we shall recommend the following changes:

To effect this object, the salaries of presidents of colleges should be raised to a point which would make this office desirable to any gentleman, however 1. Persons should be educated specially for the great his talents. They should have five or six office of instructer, and receive diplomas which thousand dollars a year, and be placed on an equalshould attest their capability. For this purpose, ity with the highest officers of government. Prodepartments should be added to our colleges-per- fessors should have two, three, or four thousand dolhaps a single additional professorship would be suffi-lars, as the case might be-but tutors should receive cient-in which young men should be trained to less in proportion, so that although they should be the business of teaching. None but graduates competently supported, they should not be so well should be admitted into this school; nor should the paid as to destroy their desire for promotion. The ordinary acquisitions of the college entitle him to its same kind of graduation should take place in acaddiploma; on the contrary, one of his duties should emies and common schools. The only difficulty be a thorough review of his whole preparatory and would be to arrange at first the scale of proportion, collegiate courses, for the purposes of correcting but when this should be agreed upon, there would errours, maturing and digesting his attainments, con- be a gradual line of promotion from the teacher of necting and arranging his series of studies into sys- the alphabet, up to the president of a university. tem, and giving accuracy and volume to his whole That this plan would effect a complete and most store of knowledge. He should, in connexion with salutary improvement in education, we cannot doubt these exercises, or subsequently if most advisable, There are in the United States about sixty colleges; be taught the art of teaching, the philosophy of the but as all these are not of the first class, suppose young mind, the best modes of inculcating know-that in ten of the wealthiest, the presidents received ledge, the most approved methods of discipline, and salaries of six thousand dollars-that in twenty oththe history of the art of teaching, from the earliest ers they received five thousand dollars-and in the times, including a thorough knowledge of existing remainder four thousand dollars. Suppose there systems of instruction throughout the world. He were in the whole, three hundred professorships, should be taught to govern his own temper, to regu- worth from two to four thousand dollars each. There late his manners, and to know the importance of his would then be three hundred and fifty offices suffiexample; nor should a diploma be granted to any ciently well endowed, to render their attainment candidate whose temper was bad, or morals doubt-worthy of the perseverance of a long and arduous ful. They should be made practically expert in pursuit. The office of president of a college would teaching, by being employed, regularly or occasionally, as tutors in the college.

be sought with the same enterprise, patience, and singleness of purpose, which now elevate men to 2. The trustees and visiters of the publick schools, high civil stations, or place them in the foremost should be required, in all cases, to give the prefer- ranks of science. The young teacher of the comence to persons thus educated, in the selection of mon school would toil as cheerfully, and improve his their teachers; so that, in due time, this class of talents with as much energy, as a junior member of trained instructers would take the place of all others. the bar, supported under all his toils and vexations 3. Having provided the means for educating by the cheering hope that he was qualifying himself teachers, and elevating this department of mental ex- for an elevated station; and he would thus acquire ertion to the rank of a liberal profession, it is neces-habits of industry, regularity, and self-control, which sary that inducements should be offered which shall would not forsake him when raised to a more proscause it to be embraced by gentlemen of talents. perous fortune. For the purpose of ascertaining how this may be Perhaps we shall be told, that this plan is impracbest effected, we must look at other branches of em-ticable, on account of the immense sum which would ployment, and discover what are the usual stimu-be required to sustain it. But what nation ever belants to energetick and honourable exertion. We find came great, that was daunted by the magnitude of a few men who are capable of high effort, or suscep- scheme, which led directly to the promotion of her tible of a generous moral impulse, toiling for a mere grandeur? Had Napolcon hesitated to count the subsistence and toiling thus from choice; for we cost, he would never have swayed the destinies of must not take into this account the involuntary drud-continental Europe. Had any projector in the reign gery of the unfortunate, who are compelled by cir- of Henry VIII. proposed that England should incumstances to work or starve. Those who labour cheerfully and successfully, have always some high motive, and some well-grounded expectation of ultimate reward. These incentives are power, office, wealth, or at all events, present competency, with the additional capacity to make provision for our offspring. Offer inducements of similar efficacy to the instructers of youth, and a portion of that talent which now crowds the medical profession, or revels in "the glorious uncertainty of the law," will be thrown into the college and the school-room. Let the rewards of the teacher accumulate with his years and experience, and permit him to see, as he looks forward through the long vista of time, an old age of wealth and dignity, and the first step will have been taken in the desired reformation.

crease her navy until her ships should command every sea, and her colonies be planted over the whole globe, so that the sun should not set upon the dominions of her king, it might well have been asked, "Who shall furnish the treasure for so vast an undertaking?" Great designs have within themselves inherent resources for their own accomplishment. They create wealth by multiplying the fields for enterprise, and developing opportunities for the exertion of genius, invention, and industry. As a body at rest is set in motion with difficulty, their beginnings are costly and laborious; but as they roll on they acquire momentum, and are carried forward with a decreased exertion of impulsive power. It is not for a great nation like ours to speak of expense, in reference to a design which tends directly to the

elevation of the national character, the cultivation | upon the high and energetick character of the Westof its intellect, and the improvement of its morals-ern Literary Institute, or College of Professional while its borders are overflowing with plenty, its Teachers, and reviews its transactions with admirasoil teeming with abundance, its shores whitened with the sails of commerce, its arts triumphant, and ble skill and discrimination.—Ed.