The quantity of seed-pearls obtained in the Ceylon fishery exceeds that of any other—probably all other parts of the world. The very smallest—the _masi-tul_,—for which there is no use whatever in Europe, have an established value in India, being powdered for making _chunam_ for chewing with betel. Those slightly larger,—_tul_ pearls—for which also there is no market in Europe, are placed in the mouth of deceased Hindus of wealth, instead of the rice which is used by poorer people. The great bulk of the Ceylon pearls are silvery white in color, but occasionally yellowish, pinkish, and even “black” pearls are found, although the so-called “black” pearls are really brown or slate-colored. In some seasons these are relatively numerous, as in 1887, for instance. Notwithstanding the large product at the fishery camp, it is difficult to purchase single pearls or small quantities there at a reasonable price, the merchants objecting to breaking a _mudichchu_, or the lot resulting from washing a definite number of oysters. The shells obtained in the Ceylon fisheries do not possess sufficient thickness of lustrous nacre for use as mother-of-pearl, and are mostly used for camp-filling. A few are burned and converted into _chunam_, _i.e._: prepared lime for building purposes, or to be used by natives for chewing with the betel-nut. Forty or fifty years ago, before the large receipts of mother-of-pearl from Australia and the southern Pacific, there was a good market for the shell for button manufacture and the like, but since 1875 only the choicest have been used for this purpose, and these are worth only about $25 per ton delivered in Europe.