Page 87 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

The pre-war economy: pearl fishing, 1899-1915 503

2240

number of different persons. About 20 years ago, however, when the
local price of pearls had been rising* for over 15 years, the dealers as a
body endeavoured to combat the operatives by gradually adopting slightly
heavier weights, while retaining the old denominations; when a point had
been reached at which the pearlers refused to sell, tho weights were raado
lighter again.
The largest pearls are sent to India to be sold individually by the
Chau; but, in the assortment of the remainder into packets, each packet
containing pearls of tho 6ame class but not necessarily or usually of the
samo size, the ingenuity of the dealer finds further scope, for each of
such packets, if skilfully made up, commands a price higher than the
pearls composing it would obtain if disposed of separately. Dealers are
consequently averso to breaking up their packets, and a fancy price must
generally be paid for a single pearl selected from a packet of which the
remainder are not taken.t

The trade in mother-of-pearl.

The principal mother-of-pearl emporia in the Gulf are Lingeh,
Bahrain aud Bushehr, and from these the shells are ordinarily shipped by
direct steamer to Europe, where they are known by the name of “ Lingeh
shells.” The trade has been somewhat injudiciously conducted and
has experienced more than one crisis. Until 1S97-98 it was one in
which European and respectable native firms were unwilling to engage,-
on account of fraudulent practices associated with it; but its character
has since improved, and a German firm in Bahrain now takes an import­
ant share in the shell business.
The local price of Makiiar shells is Us. 1 to 3 per 140 lbs., of Zanni
shells Rs. 4 to 8 per 60 lbs., and of Sadaifi shells Re. { to j per 1 lb.
Tho annual quantities exported since 1873 are given in Annexure No. %
to this Appendix.

Sovereignty and dues in relation to the pearl fisheries.

it of On the Arabian side all the banks, whether near to or far from the
ria. coast, are free to the pearl fishers of Arabia and Persia without distinc­
tion of race or nationality. The boats from particular ports generally

t Tho explanation of the greater value of a packet as compared with tho aggregate
voluo of tho poarls separately is not clear. It is suggested however that pearls
weighed separately are rated as equivalent to tho lower, and not to tho highor, of
tho two small weights to which they may happon to be intormedioto, and consequently
ttiat, when a number of pearls aro takon togother, tho small fractions of grains other­
wise sacrificed, being combined, give an additional number of grains.