The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-11-22

T
ticeship. Like reading and writing to
Dogberry, it .'comes of nature" to the
humble hunters after fortune who have
made Unio collecting their own. The
art is simplicity itself. Elaborate APP
paratus is not demanded; all the skill
necessary may be acquired in an hour;
and experience avails little where there
arc no rules and scarcely any dogma to
guide the manipulation. All that is re-
quired is to search for the mussels nest
ling in the mud and sand, seize them by
the hand if the water is not deep, or,
if beyond reach, insert long stick be-
tween their gaping valves, and then.
when the shell closes, lift the obstinate
mollusk to the surface; or, sometimes,
should there be a considerable number
collected on one spot, by simply draw
ing split-ended pole among them, and
taking the chance of one being wedged
into this dely-improvised trap. It is,
however, rare to find many together.
They must be sought for in ones and
twos, and then tossed ashore until
heap worth opening is accumulated.
There is, of course, no calculating
when mussel will or will not contain q
pearl, or when the pearl will be of suffi-
cient value to return fair days wages
for what the gem-seeker considers fair
days work. About one in fifty or sixty
is said to reward the toiler; but, as
rule, the pearls are small, dark, and are
only s'seed pearls" which fetch low
price in the market, where they are
bought chiefly for the purpose of placing
at the back or other concealed part of
Orient pearl ornaments. Some of the
specimens will, however, bring from
five to ninety pounds-~the latter pos
sessing a pleasing pink hue, which is
this valued variety may now and then
be seen in the jewelers. shops of Edin-
burg and Glasgow, priced at from three
to four hundred pounds. One pearl in
every fourteenth OF fifteenth shell is
commonly said to return n profit, and it
is affirmed that those from single beds,
or from the vicinity of fords where the
sand is occasionally disturbed by horses,
or cattle hoofs, are most fruitful in the
excrescence for which the mussel is es-
teemed. Wrinkled OF deformed shells,
which presumably have been disturbed
in early life, are also considered by the
mussel gatherers as more likely to con-
tain pearls than these with smooth ex-
terror. This is only in accord with what
we know of the mode in which pearls
are formed. The interior of many
shells, the famous Orient pearl oysters
and the fresh-water mussel or unto
margaritiferna included, is lined by
thick layer of the glistening substance
known as nacre, or mother of pearl.
This calcareous matter is identical in
composition with pearl, and is deposited
wherever any irritating substance, like
grain of sand or bit of foreign mat
ter of any Sort finds an entrance into
the body of the mollusk and cannot be
extruded. Then. yearly, as the nacreous
| coat is deposited on the shell the irri-
tating particle receives its share, until
it increases in size and becomes pearl,
the water and shape of which de-
ponds entirely upon the accidental man.
ner in which the tilmy layers have been
superimposed. So we'll is this rationale
of pearl formation understood that the
Chinese have for ages forced one species
of fresh-water mussel to produce pearls
by inserting between the shell and the
mantle" of the mollusk either small
leaden shot or little spherical pieces of
mother of pearl, which in time receive
nacreous covering, and resemble the
article they are intended to simulate.
Small images of Buddha covered with
nacre are also another outcome Of this
art. There is, therefore, no reason for
supposing that if the pearl oyster and
other species of notwithstanding
pearls were kept in aquaria under fit
ting conditions, the costly gem could net
be produced artifcially Indeed, Lin
n@us suggested to the Swedish Govern
ment that by inserting s'grain" of sand
through hole bored in the shell of the
river unto, so as to afford a nucleus for
for the deposition of nacre, this end
might be gained. The experiments
made proved the practicability of the
theory, and secured for the inventor a
money reward and the rank of nobility,
which his fame as the Luther of natu-
raj history would never have obtained
for him from the unappreciative Swed-
ish courtiers. BY and by, no doubt,
some shrewd person will put his or a
similar plan into operation. and when
there is a chance of crystalizing carbon
into diamonds, find his profit in the I'M
dertaking, so long as he keeps his pro-
ceedings to himself and does not over
| flood the market with the proceeds Of
his pearl farm london Standard.
----s-e s-
A Minia for Chateaux.