G^ UUOHH SMUB UNITED STATES DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF EISNER/ES M'WE> Wit/TOMM ftZWA . suu: wrrxmsf cur 8 5*0OX as a trareier seta 'oo* os the shores (rf t'erlja fce comes under the sui>'W charm of the land, and ia fuirkly imbued with the feeling that it would be most incon gruous if such a cli mate did not produce the up** luxuriant foliage the most beau tiful flower* the most luscious fruits; If sorb a toil did not give forth the most wonderful yruluslM and variety of i(weciow* atones: if such surrounding j WBi-ws did wot yield the most re japlrodent pearl* Ceylon has lots been cekbrated for ida sapphire*, rub -s. cat's*}**. moon >«4«.e*. ipdi amethyst*. carbuncles. !swd emeralds: hot none of these, nor I*® d them combined, hare given to the island the fame and the romantic ••**1 » hat *4ir been conferred on sit by the product of the ^mpid water* rffeat bathe its ooral strard* and sandy hem ties The poetic name of Ceylon today la "The Pearl on India's Brow.” t Otambo the principal city of mod *** ‘ *rk*B ts a stopping place for all the steamers plying between Europe ••d Asia and Australia, and is there hwe rliuted hy thousands of tourists j3£jt fAxr orAmuairj£AX£ axrz£X6 zEfsCAEzym ttaxz cbgtzzs mo GorzfflmrrxoTTOj and shells. In order to facilitate the descent, each diver employs a flat, oval stone, weighing 30 to 50 pounds. The stone is perforated at one end to receive a rope, and close to the stone a kind of stirrup is made in the rope to accommodate the diver's foot. The stone is suspended at a depth of 4 to 5 feet below the surface by means of a cord attached to an outrigger. When ready to descend, the diver places one foot on the stone, the oth er on the rim of a rope basket attach ed to a rope, inflates his lungs, loos ens the slip-knot holding the stone, and sinks rapidly to the bottom There be at once disengages his foot and quickly crawls over the bottom, tearing loose ail the oysters he can reach and putting them in the basket. When near the limit of bis endurance, he gives a signal with the basket rope and is quickly hauled up by the watchful attendant, or “manduck," with whom the diver is provided. The helper has meanwhile pulled up and secured the diving stone, and when the basket is hauled in he culls the catch from the miscellaneous refuse that is attached to the oysters. The divers usually operate in pairs, with a common attendant and diving stone. The descents occur at inter vals of five or six minutes. The best 77£E*7£4RL££J IOOX ZJtt TIXATfCAl C£fWS 2H£ FTFFT FFfFAFTNG TO cSTART FOE THF FUEL GFOlftDS icx ixwxxt*u w uca a Xisuerj should occur and what grounds should be opened to the divers. This deter mination was based on an examination of the various grounds in the November preceding a fishery, and a preparatory inspection of the particular grounds se lected in the following Feb ruary. The advance inspec tion of the oyster beds on which it is proposed to per mit the divers to work is for the purpose (1) of as certaining the approximate number of pearl oysters that may be taken. t2> of marking the areas on »*« rw rovers we year But me pean nscery ** mm remote iraa Colombo that not one visitor ta lea tkwuud ever goes there. The ***< fishery of Ceylon «Pi of India and •ha Persiati Gulf f« fff great antiquity, aad is thought to he the oldest established h*hry sow ta nistn'e The Sinhalese ree ards. gceag hath to about i*h B C.. Indicate that the fisheries were then well developed aad fbeee is r*uoi to WieT* that they floor 1**1 •' least fha years before. At a very early pervnd the pearls brought the island into prnaiiaeaQs abroad and were in great repate h Basse a* the * me of Pliny, who. referring ’o Veytou under the name of Taprobaae. wrote *hsf if was -the most productive of pearls of afi parts of the world ” Prom the must remote period of which there ** aaf tword. it would appear that the pearl •sbery played a very important part in ’he h story of Ceyioa. having had more or less ♦reet aad iatmate relations with every 5m f'wtaat aspect of the rtvllliittea of the island The informal >-a available clearly suggests that from the ewr-ro* times the fishery was con ^•Ced in much the game way as in our own B*y the rams methods of obtaining the pearl •yster* of handling tho catch on shore, and of retracting the ;—aris It is hardly necessary to state that the pearl •yster of Ceyioa. like ’he reari oyster of other lands liWit oyster at all It Is more nearly repair'd to the mussels ’ban to ’he oysters and B differs math sally ’rom the latter in having a brasos. or a bundle of *ne SBf-’n, Japan. Persia aad tha- are soly a fea laches in dlame er aad weigh only a few The large pearl oyster* produce the mether pearl at commerce which is so valuable that ’be flvfcery Is prrdltahle eten when no pearls are -Stained. The smaller utoLiuaks have little saloe eccept for the pearls ’hey yield. The Buiaua v c attained by the Ceylon pear’ oyster Is **n!i 4 lac hes and the shells are so this that they may he crushed between the fingers of an average man Pearl -raters are f*jcf a vigorous protest, the government leased the pearl fishery to a private syndicate and re tired from the business from which it had been obtaining a large but not steady income. As we study the life of the Ceylon pearl oyster, two points of transcendent importance are disclosed: «X1 The mollusk Is prolific to an incalculable degree, and (2) it is subject to an overwhelming mortality, which at times completely nullifies its productiveness. The numbers of oysters produced are abso lutely beyond comprehension. A few years ago. on one paar five miles long and two miles wide small pearl oysters were ascertained to be present to the number of 10.000 per square yard, in places forming a layer over the bottom nine inches deep; one diver, who was down only 30 seconds, brought up 3.225 young oysters by actual count. This condition of the grounds was determined in November by the govern ment inspectors: in December of the same year no oysters whatever were found—all had disappeared as if by magic. On another bank, known as the Periya Paar. scientific experts in the year 1902 estimated the number of young oysters at one hundred thousand million, but so insecure was their existence that on inspection a few months later it was found that all had been swept away. This destruction is due to a variety of causes, but principally to two; physical agen cies. such as the burying of the oysters by sand, which are ordinary responsible for only 4 to 5 per cent of the mortality; and animals, particularly fishes, of which various kinds and sizes feed largely on the pearl oysters, and are so charged with fully 90 per cent of all the losses to which the young and full-grown mol luaks are subject. Dp to a few years ago. and for more than a century before, the British officials in Ceylon had absolute control of the fishery, and de which fishing is to be allowed, (*» oi 8pec*iy ing the number of boats on each area and the number of days that are to be devoted to the fishery, and (41 of making an official valua tion of the prospective pearls in order that the fishery may be advertised. News that a fishery is to be held travels as by wireless telegraphy throughout Ceylon, India and other parts of the east, and at the prescribed time 30,000 to 50.000 people gather in a few days on a strip of desert sand, with the Persian Gulf on one side and the jungle on the other, at a point convenient to the pearl-oyster grounds. It can readily be understood that the pear! town is a place of intense activity from the moment the government agent opens the fish ery. The extensive business connected with the mere existence of the people would alone be sufficient to give great bustle and life; but added to this are the sr^lal industries de pendent on the various phases of the pearl fishery. As soon as the fishery is over, the entire place seems to dissolve in a day as if by magic, the people hurry to their homes, the pearl town lapses again into a solitary sandy waste, and the beasts of the jungle take possession. Marichchukaddl may spring into being the next season, but may remain non-existent for many years. There is no particular style of vessel spe claly required in the pearl fishery, and con sequently we find a great diversity of rigs, depending largely on the regions from which the divers come: narrow single-masted canoes with an outrigger, square-sterned luggers, large sailing lighters, three-masted canoes, and clumsy doneys. Some of the larger ves sels carry 65 men. of whom about half are actual divers, and the average crew of the en tire fleet is 30 to 35 men. Owing to the boisterous seas and strong winds of this region, the fishery can be con ducted only during a period of a few weeks In March and April, when the northeast monsoon has waned and the southwest monsoon has not begun. The fishery Is thus of briefer dura tion than any other pearl fishery or import ance. and is characterized by a strenuousness that is quite foreign to the east. The fishing boats start for the grounds soon after midnight, so as to be ready for work as soon as daylight comes, about 6 a. m. They take positions about the government vessel moored over the particular ground selected, anchor, and remain actively engaged until noon, when the entire fleet sets sail and starts for the shore. As there is a crowd of pearl merchants eagerly awaiting an opportunity to speculate, there is considerable rivalry among the diving boats in the matter of reaching land and discharging their catch as soon as pos sible. and consequently one witnesses some wild scenes of excitement when the oysters are being unloaded in the surf and the natives are rushing into the kottus with their catch. Except for a loin cloth, the divers are naked. Their fingers are covered by flexible leather shields to protect them from the rough corals Qiveis iUt* (. al ri ui lU ui » iucii tn'uiro iuuiviu^u ly after each descent and to take sufficient rest Between dives they often smoke a pipe or cigarette, sometimes while in the water just preparatory to a dive. The divers Trave learned by experience that they may increase the length of their sub mergence by making a number of deep, forced respiratory efforts before taking the plunge Most exaggerated stories have been told and are still current regarding the length of time the divers can remain under water The Arab divers wear nose-clasps c.f flexible horn attached to a cord around thetr neck, while the divers of other races simply com press their nostrils by hand during the de scent. This practice can hardly make any dif ference in efficiency, and we must conclude that the expertness of the Arabs depends on an aptitude born of long experience. Their usual time below the surface is SO to 73 seconds, the norma! maximum not exceed ing 90 seconds, while the Tamil and Moormen divers range from 35 to 50 or 60 seconds, de pending on the depth. There is a well authen ticated case in tg$- of an Arab who remained under for 109 seconds in water 7 fathoms deep. Under the arrangement that has prevailed for many years, the divers are allowed to re tain one-third of their catch, to dispose of as they please- The government retains the re mainder and sells It at auction. It Is a very difficult matter to extract the pearls from perfectly fresh oysters either by sight or by touch, or by J>oth combined, conse quently It has long been the practice to allow the decomposition of the soft parts before the search for the pearls is begun. The oysters are piled into dugout canoes and covered with matting or else set aside in coarse sacks for 7 to 10 days. Bacterial putre faction is supplemented by the work of blow flies and their larvae, and at the end of the period stated the disintegration, decomposi tion and digestion of the oysters have pro gressed so far that there is little left but pearls, shells, slime and foreign matter adher ing to the shells, together with a large volume or maggots. The first step in the cleaning process is the flooding of the canoe to the brim: then the naked natives, ranged on eith er side of the vessel, remove the shells, wash ing and rinsing them and removing any detri tus in which a pearl may lodge Eternal rigilance must be exercised bv the owners to prevent the theft of pearls and one of the precautions taken is to forbid the wash ers to remove their hands from the water ex cept to drop at their Teet the cleansed shells. The shells having be»n removed, the canoe is filled with water again and again and the gurry is kneaded and stirred in order that the lighter filth may be floated off The water is finally decanted, and the heavier debris con taining the pearls Is removed with scrupulous cars and wrapped in cotton cloth, undergoing a preliminary search for the largest pearls and numerous subsequent examinations in the course at drying. The dried matter is then sifted and sorted and gone over again and again: and then, when it would appear that even the dust pearls must all have been extracted, the debris passes for a final search into the hands of women and children, whose sharp eyes and delicate touch enable them to discover an amazingly large quantity of small pearls. The material then remaining is offered for sale and alwavs finds ready buyers. The most productive fishery in the recorded history of Ceylon was held in 1905. Three hundred and eighteen vessels participated, and during the season that extended from February 20 to April 51 over 81.000.000 pearl oysters were landed, whereas the best previous fish ery. in 1S91, yielded only 44.000.000. On a num ber of days over 4.000,000 oysters were ob tained. and one day. when 5.005.000 were tak en, a record was established that may never again be equalled. WILL MAKING TOO CARELESS •Uckmalt and Extortion Would Be Dacreaaad If the Formalities Were More Elaborate. Mew haphazard the preparations for the making of a will la this country are apt t» be! Whom does the arer «*• lawyer invite to attest the solemn disposition of hie cheat's estate? His •■e fleer; wholly anfanilllar with the testator. If not mere birds of passage: whose faculties, perfunctorily exer cised. can recall nothing but the hazy fact of signature when tested subse quently on the witness stand. Why. in connection with one of the most serious of human affairs, should we disdain the use of ceremonials which would give an inherent proba tive force to our action? a writer in Scribner's asks. If it be argued that dying testators cannot always procure the attendance of an offlclal whose af fidavit and seal would carry weight, and that in a free country they ought to be at liberty to call on strangers to attest their signatures rather than on friends who know them and might babble, it would seem reasonable that legislatures should at least establish some presumption of validity in favor of wills executed under more formal conditions. Let the formalities—the safeguards—be as elaborate as those who frame our laws deem necessary. If they have the popular Anglo Saxon prejudice against the notary as a rou tine functionary who might become an easy tool. It would be a simple matter to require also the affidavit of physi cians or even of a Judge after careful interrogation as a condition precedent to the erection of a rampart between testators and their greedy kin. Surely our society needs some such protection. The blackmail and extor tion current here are practically un known in foreign countries where the notarial system of attestation prevails. If It were the law that a will carefully executed under prescribed forms .should have the presumption of valid Itjr, and could be set aside only by convincing testimony, we should have taken a long step toward checking the crying abuse of speculative attacks on wills. Assuming also—though this is not yet settled—that there may be in herent difficulties, either of law or propriety, in the way of probate be fore death, the present situation might be further Improved by Imposing some restraint on the action of distant rela tives. Dream of beefstew means pot lack. ^—————t An Attempted Abduction * * * By MICHAEL J. PORTER (Copyright. 1312. by Associated Literary Press.) “Ill hunt him down, if I have to pu: bloodhounds on his trail!” “Now. major!” soothed the wife. “Now, papa!" soothed the daugh ter. “The scoundrel shall not escape!” roared the major as he paced the room. “IH have the police after him within an hour—within a quarter of an hour!” “But. major!” "But, papa!” Marjorie had been uptown to do some shopping. The major had been Talking of buying an auto, and ex pected to close the deal that day. If the event came ofT the machine would be at the depot to meet her as she came home on the 7 o’clock train. She had only stepped ofT when a man touched her arm and raised his cap and said: “This way to the auto, please." So her father had closed the deal, and was probably sitting in the auto outside waiting her appearance! But he wasn't. The machine was tenant less. but the man gave her a hand to reach the tonneau, and as she seated i herself it whizzed away. It didn’t take the right direction, but she didn’t notice this fact for a minute. When she did she called out: “You are going wrong! You must turn around!" “IH get you there, all right.” was the reply. Then Miss Marjorie opened the door and leaped straight out. to lose her balance as her feet touched the ground and fall and roll over and over in the mud. At the same time ! she screeched. It wasn't a dainty little scream, but a long-drawn V It Wasn't a Dainty Little Scream. screech that was heard a quarter of a mile away and started men running for the scene. "Here—what's the matter!” de manded the driver of the auto as he came to a sudden stop. “Help! Help!” Speed was put on and the auto dis appeared. "By George, Miss Graves!” ex claimed a first comer, who at least knew the girl by sight, "but this is about the boldest thing I ever beard i of around here!” “Was—was he trying to carry me i off?” was gasped. "Sure thing! Tes. ma'am, it was | a bold attempt at abduction, and the wonder is that he didn't have a con federate to choke you into silence and helplessness. By George, but | this village is getting to be worse ; than New York city!” The scoundrel had been noticed at the depot by men who thought be ' acted suspiciously. No one had taken the number of the auto, and it was considered useless to follow. The major hadn't closed the deal , for the anto, and he wasn't at the I depot—either with or without it. Of course. Miss Marjorie had a story to tell when she got home, and It was , the attempted crime that roused the i father’s ire. Was this the twentieth ! century? Was the police force of the village, consisting of two men. being paid enormous salaries to catch crim inals red-handed or to play checkers and sleep? The major asked a great many other questions that neither his wife or daughter could answer, and ; wound up with the threat to have the state militia called out. Meanwhile something had happened at a manor house two miles away. Rmh Forest was coming down that evening for a stay of two weeks with, her old school chum, Mrs. Thurston, a bride of two years. Harry Thurs ton, brother of the husband, had al ready been there a week. It was for him to take the auto and meet Miss Ruth. She would surely be looking for somebody to meet her, and there could be no mistake. With that spirit of carelessness so prevalent with young men, he select ed a tall, willowy girl. Instead of a short, stout one, and bore her away. He fully intended to introduce him self and do some talking after get ting clear of the depot, and when he lost his passenger in the way he did he was too astonished and rattled to do the right thing. There came as instant suspicion that he had some how picked up the wrong young lady, and in his (lustration he put on speed and disappeared. Arriving home, his explanation was that Miss Ruth was not among the passengers that got off. This passed all right for half an hour, and then the missing guest showed up to dis prove it. Harry then owned up, and after a gasp of astonishment, his sis ter said: “A rather tall, slim girl, eh?” “Yes.” “And she knew you were headed wrong?" “Yes." “Then it must be some one living in or near the village. She didn’t command you to stop? She didn't demand to know where you were tak ing her?” “Not a command nor a demand,” answered Harry- “She just opened the door and jumped, and as she jumped she screeched—Lord, how she screeched!” “Well, young man, I think you have got yourself in trouble. I be lieve the girl you tried to abduct was Marjorie Graves, only daughter of Major Graves, one of the most pep pery men in four counties." “But it was a simple mistake." “Yes, but the trouble will be to make him believe it. And the la mentable part of the whole thing is that I wanted you and that particu lar girl to fall In love with each other.” t an t we ao it just tne same: “Why. Major Graves won't let you come within ten rods of his house! And if you were to meet the young lady elsewhere what could you say?” “I guess you'll have to match me up with some one else. She ought to have had a placard hung about her neck stating who she was. All her fault.” The major's deal for the auto went through three days later, hut he did not let the excitement of it turn him from the trail of the would-be ab ductor. He made many moves, but he got no clews. Ten days later he and Miss Marjorie were riding out The major had taken three lessons in running the machine and felt that he knew all about it He had done very well for an hour at a slow pace —so well that he decided to 'hit 'er up" to about thirty. The daughter protested, but the hitting took place, just the same. Half a mile had been covered when the machine swerved out of tbe highway into an unfenced meadow and began to cnt up all kinds of circus tricks. It wiggled and wob bled. It ran in circles. It shaved the whiskers off of stumps. Young Harry Thurston heard Miss Marjorie's screams, and the major's cuss-words and calls for help, from the brook where he was fishing, and he was soon on the scene. He dodged here and there and shouted instruc tions. but the major was repeating the Lord’s Prayer and his daughter continuing her screams. The only way was to take a flying leap for the footboard as the machine came along. It needed courage and confidence, but the young man landed right, and soon discovered what was wrong and reme died it. Miss Marjorie reached the ground to faint away, and the major fell out to gasp and swear and tell what he would do to the seller of the machine. It was for Harry to act as chauffeur to get them home, and when he had done so and been invited in he mus tered up the courage to tell the story of the attempted abduction. The result he told his sister-in-law and Miss Forest three hours later. “The major called me a scoundrel,” he said. “And then said he owed me his life.” “And the daughter?” “She 6aid I must be an idiot to make such a mistake, and then added that she was glad I did.” “And—and-" “Ask my wife and me to visit you about a year from now.” ONE OF MAN’S LIMITATIONS' — He Can Work Wonder*, but Find* Difficulty in Growing Hair on Bald Pate. “We are all weak creatures.” said Mrs. Corney, laying down a general ; principle. “So we are." said the beadle. Just think, for example, of the num ber of fabulously rich and powerful men, including John D. himself, who have to wear wigs. Bald heads stand aa glaring emblems of mankind's lim itations. We can slice continents in half with great canals or push towers higher into the heavens than the an cient Babel, but we all feel like weak creatures again the minute we hear a barber saying to a shiny-pated cus tomer: “Try a little tonic, sir?” A wonderful creative genius had Browning, but when this great man “experimentally” shaved off his beard one day, I.e must have felt as small sod powerless as an ant to hear his wife order: “It must be grown a«aln this minute.” And so It is with none of the up roarious levity of some of our contem poraries, but rather with a sympa thetic appreciation of the stupendous nature cf bis task, that we begin to watch the year long “demonstration" of a Chicago hair tonic manufacturer who recently was instructed by a municipal Solomon to prove the mer its of a specific by growing hair on a bald-headed policeman. — Collier's Weekly. Wine Had the First Call. The marquis of Wellesley, when lord lieutenant of Ireland, was at a table with a party of Irishmen who were chiefly Orangemen, and in the dining room hung a painting of the Battle of the Boyne, which in that country is usually called the Victory of Boyne Waters. The company wishing him to pronounce an opinion, invited him to change his seat. “Surely, my lord!” said one, “you would not turn your back on Boyne Waters r “Oh, I never look at water when I can get wine,” Lord Wellesley answer ed. pointing to a bottle of claret that stood before Urn.