When the Mergui reefs were first exploited by diving apparatus, the bulk of the shells were secured from depths of ten to twelve fathoms. These shallow reefs have been exhausted, temporarily, at least, and the divers now work in deeper water, fifteen, twenty, and even twenty-five fathoms, if the bottom is very uneven and rocky. Many shells are found in the depressions between the large boulders, which may be twenty or thirty feet deeper than the surrounding areas. The oysters are opened by means of the long-bladed working-knife of the country, known as _dah-she_. The flesh is thrown into a large basket or washtub, where it is searched by the proprietor of the boat, who takes each piece between the hands and squeezes and feels through every part of it. After the flesh has been carefully examined, the sediment at the bottom of the tub is washed and panned to obtain those pearls which have fallen through the flesh tissues. The Mergui pearls are commonly of good color and luster, and compare favorably with those from the Sulu Archipelago or the Dutch East Indies. The sea-green shell of the snail (_Turbo marmoratus_) is gathered in large quantities by the nude diving Selangs, who barter it to Chinese traders at the equivalent of Rs.8 or 10 per 100 in number. The flesh is also dried and disposed of to these traders under the name of _thadecon_, at about Rs.3 per _viss_ of 3.33 pounds. This mollusk yields a few greenish yellow pearls. In 1895, three pearl reefs were discovered off the Bassein coast in the district of Irawadi.[165] These proved fairly remunerative for one season and a portion of another, when they were abandoned. THE PEARL FISHERIES OF THE RED SEA, GULF OF ADEN, ETC. Under the Ptolemies, and even long after—under the Califs—these were islands whose merchants were princes; but their bustle and glory have since departed from them, and they are now thinly inhabited by a race of miserable fishermen. JAMES BRUCE (1790). The Red Sea was one of the most ancient sources of pearls, furnishing these gems for centuries before the Christian era, and particularly during the reign of the Ptolemies. These pearls were alluded to by Strabo, Ælianus, and other classical writers. Although the prominence of the fisheries has suffered by comparison with those of Persia and Ceylon, the yield has been more or less extensive from the days of Solomon up to the present time.