The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-11-14
Pearls.


sian Gulf were the ancient sources of
pearls. The discovery of America has
added the Gulf of Paria, the Isle of
Margarita, Peru, the Gulf of Mexico
and the Gulf of California to the list of
places producing the most famous
pearls. Mobius in 1858 published a
volume on the formation of pearls, and
no one, since then, has made material
additions to our knowledge about this
subject. He claims that some body,
foreign to the oyster, such as a calcare-
Gus crystal, entozoa, anodonta, or pos
sibly an egg, becomes lodged in a cor
ner of the genital gland, or in the adj
ductor muscle, or in the mantle. The
shell-building process is next reversed,
and the pearl is produced from the Sc
cretions emitted by the tissues of the
oyster and added, in concentric layers,
about the aforesaid nucleous. Pearls
are of various shapes, but the pear
shaped, button-shaped, and, above all,
the virgin, paragon, or well-rounded
pearls, are the most valuable. Their
color also varies from white, through
gray and yellow, to black. Their COM
mercial value depends largely on the
taste of the purchaser and the fashions
of the day. Atpresent black pearls are
valued most highly, though, as rule,
the white are most commonly sought.
1t is never possible to give pearls in
trinsic valuations. Even when sold by
weight the prices vary with the shape
and size of each pearl. A pearl of ten
grains, if button-shaped, would be worth
from S154 to 1921; if it is round,
white or rose-colored, from $3.50 to
1913, and, if black, from $1,000
to $3.50. A pearl of 30 grains
might be sold for $40 per grain.
1t is also true that fine pearl
worth or valued at $500 would be worth
81 900 if similar pearl could be found
to match it, pair possessing a greater
artistic and industrial value than one.
Pearls of some value are also sometimes
found in fresh and brackish waters,
notably in Saxony, Bevaria. Bohemia,
Jutland, Scotland, Ireland, Norway,
Sweden and France. And have seen
some very fine specimens that have
been taken from inland rivers, such as
the Winooski, in Vermont. These
fresh water pearls are taken from the
"hog muscle; but the most highly
valued pearls are taken from the
Meleagima MargoritJera, little shell
fish, dwelling in salt water and occupy
ing very low place in the animal king
dom. The Meleagima radidta, resi-
dent in the Indian Ocean and like lati-
tudes, produces an inferior article.
The latter when fully developed has a
diameter of four inches, nearly, and
both its valves will weigh about five
and one-fOurth ounces. Two facts of
great interest are associated with this
subject. The one is this, that very
common pearls were once called drug
gist pearls because from them the
powder was obtained which in ancient
therapeutics was used in certain astrin-
gent medicines, now no longer en-
ployed. The second fact of interest is
the possible future production of these
beautiful trinkets by mans interven-
ton. G.. Bonchon- Brandely, to whom
| am largely indebted for most of these
statements, declares that the Chinese
manufacture pearls by introducing
between the valves of certain shells
foreign bodies on which secretions are
soon deposited. He himself made
the following experiment. Having
bored holes of one-half inch diameter
through the shells of pearl oyster, he
introduced small glass ball, held by
wire, which in turn was attached to
cork. The cork Theoretically closed the
opening. After four weeks he found
very fine artificial pearl in course of de-
velopment; for the glass ball was al
most wholly covered with layer of
mother of pearl. Thus artificial pearl
raising promises to become fact, and
the insignificant magaritVera may be
made garden bed of precious stones.
The extent of this industry, if devel-
oped, may be surmised from the fact
Chat England annually derives S4 ,000, 900
from her pearl fisheries and France,
in 1888, imported $4,000 grains of
pearls. In buying these precious or
naments the purchaser should guard
against deception; for ingenious lapi-
darians have found means of making
poor specimens rose-colored, lilac, yell
low and gray. "And the twelve gates
were twelve pearls; every several gate
was of one pearl; and the street of the
city was pure gold, as it were transpa-
rent glass" PETER KIMPER.