"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٢‎٢‎٦] (١٢٦٢/٧٤٣)

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of an impure colour, and they generally crack after a year or more. Parti
coloured pearls are not uncommon ; they are mostly black or brownisli,
with white or bluish variegations. Besides pearls of spherical or pear-
shaped form, symmetrical probably because they have developed in
a soft medium, malformed pearls of various types occur in the Persian
Gulf as they do elsewhere ; of these the commonest are the hemisplierical
" button pearl/' flattened on one side, perhaps by contact with the shell,
and the hollow irregularly shaped " blister pearl " which is formed by the
oyster as an internal defence after a boring parasite has succeeded in
penetrating its shell. Small pearls generally, whether round or deformed,
are denominated " seed pearls but this is an English term, and, as will
be seen from Annexure No. 5, has no single Arabic equivalent.
Pearls exceeding 30 grains Troy in weight are seldom obtained in
the Persian Gulf, and the smaller sizes are numerous in proportion to
their smallness. One of the finest Persian Gulf pearls on record^was
found in 1867 in 16 fathoms of water near the island of Shaikh Shu aib;
it was purchased by a merchant for 15,000 Qrans, was sold in Paris for
about £^,000, and was eventually purchased by a Baniyah and brougnt
to India to make an eye for an idol. Another fine pearl was that
referred to in the paragraph on the political history of the Arabian pearl
banks.
Natire The experts of the Persian Gulf assert that the largest, whitest
opinions. heaviest, and most perfect pearls are obtained in deep water, while t ie
shallow bed 3, though prolific, yield pearls of less specific gravity an
tinged invariably with a shade of some colour; this stain of co ^ ou !: A 6 ?
attribute to the influence of the light of the sun, and they hold t a
there is a tendency to distortion in pearls grown between islands an
the mainland, and that deep water is favourable to perfect sphenci y ^
well as to lustre and to the other qualities conferring value. The peai^
fishers of the Persian Gulf are possessed by a patriotic^ beliet m
superiority of the produce of their own seas ; and, estimating the nnenes^
of pearls as they do by an imaginary number of " coats,* they assig^
one only to the Karachi pearl, three to the Ceylon pearl, five to the ^
Sea and Soqotrah pearl, and no less than seven to the ordinary P ea ^
the Persian Gulf, while fine pearls from Kharag have sometimes
described as having eight a coats. ^
Persian Gulf mother-of-pearl.
As has already been mentioned, mother-of-pearl is obtained
all the three kinds of pearl oyster that are found in the ^ rsl f 1 jV e pearl
but the most important producer of this substance, as well o _ 1
itself, is the Mahharah variety of oyster. Mahhara h shell sjweig^^_
# The pearl is formed in concentric layers, and a dull pea'l oan ^ g e veral
time be improved by stripping off one or more of the outer skins, bu , ■;
layers bear no relation to the coats " of the Arabs. The " coat " is called
(plural, Athyab ); and, the greater the number of " coats > the S
pupjiosed to be the power of the pearl to resist the effects of weather and clto e