Page 468 - 6 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE 2_Neat

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Diving, moreover, causes dilatation of the heart and valvular
disease. Scurvy sometimes breaks out, but the boat captains arc
aware of the preventive value of fruit juice and no boat leaves for
the bank without a quantity of dried limes. Cases of divers being
bitten by large fish are not infrequent.
The Government hospital boat, in charge of an Indian Sub-
Assistant Surgeon, remains on the pearling banks throughout the
season in order to render such assistance as possible in cases of
illness among the divers.
In the majority of cases diving is financed by merchants ashore
who make advances to the captains of boats. The latter are ex­
pected in turn not only to equip and provision the boats but to
make advances to their divers. The rates of interest on all ad­
vances made in the pearl diving industry have now been fixed by
order of the Sheikh at LM) per cent, for the two short seasons and
10 per cent, for -he Ghaus. The captain of a boat is not bound to
sell his pearls to the merchant who finances him unless he makes
an agreement to that cflect, when no interest is charged, and the
merchant buys the pearls at 20 per cent, below the market value.
No regular wages are paid to divers but they arc entitled to a share
of the profits. When a boat’s accounts are made up the captain
takes one-fifth of the profits after deduction of all expenses and the
crew divides the remainder in proportionate shares.
Since the diving reforms were brought in in 1924 at the sugges­
tion of II.B.M.’s Political Agent, the divers get much fairer treat­
ment than formerly and regulations concerning the regular keeping
of accounts, fixed rates of interest and definite rates of advances
have been laid down, while the old Salfeh court, a notoriously
corrupt diving tribunal, has been abolished.
The biggest buyers are the Continental pearl merchants,
together with one or two Indian and Persian merchants. These
buyers now come to Bahrein in person instead of dealing through
agents as they used to do. After the close of the diving season
they take the pearls down to Bombay to be graded and
polished, and thence to London and Paris to be placed on
the world market. Buyers seldom pay cash down, and
often payments are not completed till the following season.
A number of brokers act as middlemen between the boat captains,
the smaller merchants and the Continental buyers. It is remark­
able that, despite ample opportunities for theft and cheating by
these brokers very few cases of dishonesty occur. Often brokers,
who are literally bankrupt, carry around pearls worth thousands of
rupees.
The increasing number of cultured pearls which have appeared
on the world jnarket has adversely affected the pearl trade in
general. A cultured pearl, usually worth about one-third the
value of a natural pearl, cannot be detected, even by an expertt