The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-04-22
Artificial Pearls

.Sot only are the wonderful processee
Of nature followed and natural pearls
produced by artificial means, but pearls
are manufactured on a large scale with
out the aid Of any shelf fish whatever.
About 222 years ago Noise NJ.
Joaquin, a citizen Of Paris, a bead man
ufacturer, one Of those inventive gent
uses who are not above taking a hint
or suggestion from the most casual cir
cumstances, happened TO be walking in
the garden of his country-house near
Paris when his attention was attracted
by aremarkable silver luster on a basin
of water We can imagine NJ. Joaquin,
at once all interest and attention at
what almost any other mar would pass,
and which undoubtedly thousands on
thousands had passed without giving
the matter a thought.
"Ah cieln murmers the Frenchman.
an could give my beads such lus.
teri Pray, what has produced this eff.
feet upon the basin of waterp"
The old servant who has regarded the
sudden interest displayed in such a
trile, We al well imagine, with som
contempt as well as surprise, answers
his master, speaking for the whole
world:
Master, it is but the fish; some al
bettes happened to be crushed in the
water; it is nothing"
Nothing!-yes, nothing TO the stupid
servant, nothing TO the rest Of the
world; but to a practical inventive
genius like that of NJ. Joaquin it is a dis
covery, it is a fortune, it is an opening
up of a new branch of commerce that
feeds, clothes and supports whole COM
munities, and keeps them busy.
NJ. Joaquin saw that the lustrous shade
he so much admired was indeed pro-
duced by the countless scales of the
little fish called the bleak-LeuciScuS
aI6urnuS. He at once began expert
menting. The scales he dried and re.
duced to powder, and this he used as an
enamel, with which small beads OF
waXed alabaster were coated externally.
These, though beautiful, were unsatisT
factory, and hesoon began TO use hollow
glass beads. He now took the scale s
of the FISH, thoroughly washed and
rubbed them successfully several times.
The different portions of water used in
these washings he suffered to settle.
The water being carefully drawn Off by
siphons, our pearl-maker found a lust
rous matter OF the consistency of oil re-
naming ut the bottom. This substance
is called by the French essence
d'0rient," or essence of pearl. Our
pearl-maker, after sundry Intellectual at
tempts to preserve it from soon becom-
ing putrid, at last succeeded by keeping
it, in. volatile alkali. The further pro-
cess of pearl-making consists in blowing
this essence of pearl, combined with
melted isinglass, into hollow beads
made Of a peculiar kind of fine glass of
a blush tint. These having received
an even and perfect incrustation on
their inner surfaces, are filled with
mucilage of fine gum-arabic, and, hay
ing been perforated with a needle and
threaded on a string, are ready for sale.
For one ounce ofthe lustrous material
used in coating the inside OF the shells,
no less than 1000 fish are required.
Fortunately this kind of fish is very
abundant, or there might have been
some probability that the bleak, becom-
ing extinct as a fish, would only con
tinue to exist in the form of artificial
pearls.