Off the coasts of Venezuela the Spaniards, from the time they conquered the mainland, carried on pearl-fishing ; but towards the beginning of the eighteenth century this commerce was abandoned, and was only revived again in 1895. There, the oysters are collected by divers or by an implement called ” arrastra,” a small drag provided with a net into which the oysters fall as they are detached by the drag.

Small sailing boats manned by four or five sailors draw this drag over the oyster beds, and if each boat has two arrastras, it can collect four or five bags daily. A diver can obtain three times the quantity ; but the diver’s dress, being costly, is restrictive to this method of obtaining the pearls, besides which his licence costs three times as much as that for a boat.

About 5000 men are employed in the Venezuelan pearl fishery; and most of the pearls are purchased by Syrians on the spot. The price for unsorted pearls is about half-a-crown per carat, but some single pearls have realised £150. The Venezuelan pearls are white, and all of them find their way to Paris or London.