Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-12-26
WHOLE NO. 215l.
FRESH-WATER PEARLS.
Where They are FnTn5 and How They
are Utilized.

Where They are Fnan6 and How They
are Utilized.
"Fresh-water pearl fisheries have
long been of more or less Importance
in this and other countries" said a
dealer to reporter the other day. "ln
the west the best localities have been
found in st. Clair county, Illinois,
while Rutherford county, Tennessee.
and the Little Miami, in Ohio, have
produced many valuable pearls, as
many other streams from Texas to
along the Ohio. One Of the finest
pearls was taken few years ago from
a stream near Salem, n. j. 1t was
over an inch across, and was sold in
Paris for over $1,000"
"Do European rivers produce pearls :"
asked the reporter.
"1n Scotland" said the expert, 'there
is an equally good harvest Of them;
in fact, the peafls there are better.
They come principally from the rivers
lay, Isla. Doom and others, and the
pearls arc preferred 10y some to their
marine fellows. In single summer
pearls valued at $4,000 have been TAX
en- from the Scotch streams, and [ be-
leye al these passed through the
hands of Uger, the great Edinburg
jeweller. The shell that produces
them is the common black unis, SO
itch in pink and silver tintS in the in
terror. The pearls are formed by
small PARTICLES of dust or mud lodging
in the inside that are covered with
peally nacre by the animal, At the
hinge cf the she'll is pearly proni-
nence that is also saved off.
"IIow are these utilized?' asked the
reporter
ain thousand different ways was
the reply. "TIe majority of these
pearls, found in the Ohio ialley by the
fishermen and their children, find
their way to the large manufacturing
jewellers of New York, where they are
bought at what seems a fair price;
but the toughest piece Of pearl, that
perhaps the fisherman received half
cent for, sells for, may be $50. How?
"Why, just this way" and the speaker
took outa pin that was made OF g
piece of pinkish pearl, shaped exactly
like an elephant. 81 paid $50 fol
that he said, ''and the pearl part was
probably sold for a song: but you see
the wholesalers buy up the pieces and
divide them up. Some like fishes, and
others horses heads, birds, eggs and
animals Of various kinds; so, without
much work, they are mounted up in
scarf-pins, are odd become the fash
ion, and the result is an enormous sale,
and in this way the odd pieces are
worked off. The small, perfect pearls
are much used in onyx jewelry, set in
"IIave there been any attempts to
force growth Of pearls 2" asked the
reporter.
a good many" the dealer replied.
"The famous naturalist, LinnHus, after
observing the efforts of the oyster to
repel invasion, thought that 10y bor-
ing the shell, in fact, initiating the |
parasite, he could force their growth,
and to this end the Swedish govern
ment paid him $500; but it was a
complete failure. the Chinese are,
however, successful. They seed their
oysters and produce small pearls, and,
by placing figures or images in the
shell, they become fastened and covered
with a pearly luster in time. This
trick was used by the Buddhists for a
long time, the instigators pretending
that it was Il natural growth. In
Japan the oysters are salted, particu-
larly the fresh water mussel-unC
hvna;"