Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-12-06

tsaGsr-, 2 Witn wOoue II iibe some six
'eeninohes lsng. ten inches square, and
glazed at one end, they prospect from
their boats the bottom OF these translu-
cid sas, the glass end, which Is put into
the water, serving the purpose OF sup
press ng the eye pnZz ling surfaceripple
The diver of the Persian Gulf or OF
Ceylon attaches weight Of some twen.
fty pounds To his feet To aid IN his de-
scent. and carries seven or eight pounds
more OF ballast in a belt. He protects
both eyes and ears with oiled cotton,
: bnndag,,s his mouth. and goes down
forty feet with rope. He remains
down from iifty-three to eighty seconds,
and helps himself up agaiu by the rope.
IhIt the Pacific diver practices the con.
iurers boast Of no preparation. Just
before the plunge he or she draw a full
breath rapidly three or four times run
: ming. and finally, with the lungs full Of
air. drops feet first to the bottom. not
forty feet. bnt twenty-five Or thirty
fsthonS $50 feet to 1870 feet), and comes
" the surface gain with extraordinary
swiftness. unaded 10, any way. Each
dive generally lasts from sixtv to ninety
. etN'itlI>. anu pHIN NtlN cNtl~ltuaIlN lilt
astonishing maximum of three minutes.
{ The divers hardly ever bring up more
than one oyster at a time; but this is
! chosen rs likely TO contain pearls by
some fancied rule Of thumb Of their own,
grounded on age. fors and color; and
they hold the shells tightly together as
? they mount, lest the envious oyster
should shed the pearl. which the divers
themselves are very quick to conceal by
: swallowing if the EMPLOYERS eve is not
tnrd upon them. Diving bells have
! been introduced by some houses in the
trade; but the natives will no longer
work in them. saving they bring on
, early paralysis of the legs.
Like his edible relative, the pearl-
oyster also has his enemies and para
sites. 4 Hat fish called tahereta by the
: natives of this Polynesian archipelago
makes great ravages among the young
. fry: it resembles the eagle raw,
{ which is So destructive in European
/ ovsier-beds. There is another. a long
fish with powerful jaws for crunching
I the full-grown oyster. which is called
! the Oirt or tOtohe. and does not seem to
have been identified by naturalists.
, There are also two univalve shell-fsh -
= murcX. which spends its time boring
holes through the oyster, and = pholade.
e which scoops a nest for itself in the up
per shell, just as lis fellows do III the
rocks Of our own coasts. But the worst
pest of all is probably marine worm,
q locally called the needle-worm which
pierccs a network of galleries. like the
book worm or the teredo. between the
; outer and inner surface of the shells.
and so ruins the mother-of pearl; which
, when 50 damaged is known in the trade
rs worm. eaten. There is small parasit-
Eal sponge. too, which stains or ''spOts"
the mother-Of-pearl. Polypi ascidiane
and serpulS ali mingle in the fray: and
while the older crabs remove the
Z Young oysters from their beds with their
: nippers 10 be eaten at leisure. the crab
fry get inside aud billet themselves at
bed and board on the grown eyster I'M
til they have eaten their host out Of
house and home. 1t is very possible
that some of these enemies are the irri-
taut causes of the pearls; in the center
of which there is always some foreign
: substance. such rs 3 grain Of sand or
fish's egg. A great number of small
pearls are sometimes found in one
bivalve; one with ll5. from Elizabeth or
Toan Island. in the Tuamotu group.
was shown in Paris in 1873 Some
, pearls reach great size; and one from
Panama, which was presented to Philip
: IL. of Spain. in 1879. is recorded to
have been as big as a pigeons egg.
Imitation pearls-and admirable i'm :
raiio1 the most of them sre-are not u
/ common jus. now. rhey were first iu-
vented in 1856 bv one Jaquin. a FRENCH
'enameler on glass. The little glass
giobules of which they consist are first
lined with a mixture Of isinglass and
essence Of the East" and then stuffed
with melted wax. This essence Orient
is made Of the pearly matter which IS
found at the base of the scales of the
. whiting. preserved in smmonis--Sl
! .JIHges Gdzette.