Pearls are more numerous in this pearl-oyster than in the two other Australian species. In removing them from the flesh, a modification of the Ceylon process is adopted. The mollusks are opened by means of a knife, and the contents of the shells are placed in vats or tubs—known locally as “poogie tubs”; and, exposed to the hot sun, are allowed to putrefy. Sea water is added, and the putrid mass stirred; after several days the water and the thoroughly disintegrated flesh tissues are decanted, leaving the pearls at the bottom. The odor from a number of these “poogie tubs” is said to almost rival that of the “washing toddies” at Marichchikadde.
The Sharks Bay pearls are commonly yellowish or straw-colored, and sometimes have a beautiful golden tinge. Although obtained from small shells, they are sometimes of considerable size—twenty grains or more in weight, and fine specimens sell for several hundred dollars each. China and India furnish better markets for them than Europe or America.
PEARL FISHERIES OF THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO
My thoughts arise and fade in solitude;
The verse that would invest them melts away
Like moonlight in the heaven of spreading day.
How beautiful they were, how firm they stood,
Flecking the starry sky like woven pearl.
Shelley, My Thoughts.
