Contending with these many difficulties, we venture to present the following estimate of the number of persons employed in the pearl fisheries of the world, and the value of the output in 1906. Localities. Pearls Shells Fishermen Local Local No. Values. Values. Asia: Persian Gulf 35,000 $4,000,000 $110,000 Ceylon[86] 18,500 1,200,000 40,000 India 1,250 100,000 95,000 Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, etc.[87] 3,000 200,000 150,000 China, Japan, Siberia, etc. 20,000 400,000 50,000 ——————— —————————— —————————— Total 77,750 $5,900,000 $445,000 Europe: British Isles 200 15,000 Continent of Europe 1,000 100,000 3,000 ——————— —————————— —————————— Total 1,200 $115,000 $3,000 Islands of the Pacific: South Sea islands 4,500 125,000 500,000 Australian coast[88] 6,250 450,000 1,200,000 Malay Archipelago 5,000 300,000 800,000 ——————— —————————— —————————— Total 15,750 $875,000 $2,500,000 America: United States rivers 8,500 650,000 350,000 Venezuela 1,900 275,000 10,000 Mexico 1,250 210,000 200,000 Panama 400 40,000 75,000 Miscellaneous 1,000 75,000 25,000 ——————— —————————— —————————— Total 13,050 $1,250,000 $660,000 ======= ========== ========== Grand total 107,750 $8,140,000 $3,608,000 Our returns do not represent the annual output of pearls in the values best known to gem buyers. The difference in price between pearls in the fisherman’s hands in the Persian Gulf or at the Pacific islands, and that for which they are exchanged over the counters in New York or Paris, is nearly as great as the difference in value of wool on the sheep’s back and of the same material woven into fashionable fabrics. For each dollar received by the fisherman, the retail buyer probably pays three; and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the pearls herein represented probably sold ultimately for an aggregate of $24,420,000.