The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-31
SOME LEGENDS
ABOUT PEARLS.
The Romantic Idea of the Oyster
and the Dew of Heaven.
Tales That Have Been Told Of the Beautiful
Gems That Have Adorned Some of the
Famous Women Of History.


by early writers to be the origin of the
pearl, that gem which is deemed worthy to
deck the brow of royalty, which adorns
fair women, which is the delight IF the
treasure-hunter, and which in all ages has
been the symbol of beauty, purity and
worth.
This theory is advanced by Pliny, and
Boz THUS says of the Scotch pearl mussei:
" These mussels, early in the morning, when
the sky is clear and temperate, open their
mout hs a little above the water and most
greedily swallow the dew of heaven, and
after the quantity and measure of dew
which they swallow they conceive and
breed the pearl"
This pretty conceit, however, is brushed
away by the stern realities of sober fact.
The keen eye OF science has discovered that
the birth of the pearl is anything but a po-
etical affair 1t is due to an accident, and
to one of those provisions Of nature by
W hich every living creature resists foreign
attack, and seeks to protect itself from in
jury.
The oyster pearl springs into existence in
two different ways. The first is by the in
PRODUCTION into the animal of foreign sub
stance. In an unguarded moment the oys-
ter may permit minute grain of sand to
slip into its domicile and lodge between the
flesh and the shell. The oyster is powerless
To eXpel the iDtruding substance. which i'm
mediately becomes Il source of irritation
There is but one remedy. The animal be-
gins to cover the grain Of sand with coat
Of membrane. followed by layer of cal
careous matter called nacre.
ibis is Identical with the mother-of- pearl,
that beautiful lining of the shell which re-
fleet all the col0rs Of the rainbow, as we'll
q tbp ipiipafn On mfr
Nacre is constantly eXuded from the bodies
OF the oyster, the cookie, the nautilus, tie
snail. and other animals of the mollusk or
der, and forms their outer covering, hard
or soft, thick or thin, according to the pro-
lection demanded by their surroundings.
Around the intruding grain of sand which
has been mentioned accumulate alternate
layers of membrane and nacre, until pearl
is formed. These pearls, however, are not
the valuable
GEMS OF COMMERCE
Because, in the first place, they preserve
the form of the grain OF sand, and hence are
irregular in shape; and in the second place
they frequently adhere to the shell, and
consequently present one rough side.
The perfect pearl is found loose in the
interior of the flesh, and has its beginning
in an animal germ. The oyster annually
produces Il number of eggs which, as soon
as they develop into dimiuutlve animals,
are thrown out by the mother. Occasion
ally, however, an egg proves ab0rtive and
remains behind.
1t is almost microscopic in size and is in
closed in tiny capsule. This capsule now
becomes to all intents and purposes, a for
eign substance. But it has certain powers
akin to those OF the parent, one OF which is
that of manufacturing. throwing out and
gathering around itself nacre. The nacre
completely envelopes it and the germ of an
animal is soon incased in beautiful prison,
usually spherical in form, but sometimes
pear shaped
This is the true pearl. Its size, OF course,
depends upon the length of time to which
the process is continued, as the pearl is
enlarged by constant deposits from year to
year.
Considerable ingenuity has been exer-
cised in the manufacture of artificial pearls.
The French have attained the greatest eX-
cellence in this industry. From small fish
called the bleak the scales are scraped,
washed and pressed between folds of linen
cloth of fine texture. A fluid then slowly
trickles from them and when it has been
filtered often enough to attain the requisite
degree OF purity is mixed with an alkaline
substance to arrest the decay Of animal
matter.
This is the precious Essence d'Orient,"
to produce pound of which several thou
sand OF the fish are required. The addition
of a small quantity of isinglass completes
the preparation of the fluid for use. The
tSSelCt is HOW lulO HOLLOW spheres
OF colOrleSS glass until 1t covers the surface
of the interior. instantly the glass bead is
transformed into an admirable imitation of
pearl. In fact, the counterfeit is so perfect
that it can only be detected by weight.
The Italians also make artificial pearls,
but in an entirely different way. They in
sert skillfuily c0lored varnsh into glass
beads; ana also cover porcelain spheres
with a cement maze from finely powdered
mother Of pearl. These limitations are
pretty ornaments, but dc not make any pre-
tense Of competing with the genuine article
The production Of pearls by assisted pro-
pagatlon is curious Industry, which has
been carried on more successfully by the
Chinese than by any other people. They
take the mussels from their beds, and, pry-
ing open the shells, or boring holes through
them, insert small molds or beads so that
they will lie in
THE SOFT FLESH.
The animals, being unable to expel these
foreign bodies, Immediately begin to cover
them with nacre, as described in the natural
pearlmaking process. In n year a COM
plete coating is formed, but the beauty of
the pearl is greatly enhanced by allowing it
to remain undisturbed for two or three
years.
These pearls, however. are seldom per-
feet in shape, because 1t is almost impoS-
sible to obtain or manufacture kernels of
tiawless spherical form. The deposit CT
nacre, of course. follows every inequality
OF surface in the artificial mods.
The most famous pearl fisheries in the
world are near the coasts of CeylOn, Japan,
Java and Sumatra, and in the Persian Gulf,
although pearls in limited quantities are
obtained i'll streams of various countries.
Ceylon, however, stands in the greatest re-
nown for its pearls and pearl-divers.
Ceyl0n is an island in the Indian Ocean
about ten miles south of Hndostan. 1t
presents great contrasts of scenery, from
precipitous and picturesque ROCKS to level
plains of sand. The pearl-oyster banks are
on the west coast, and here at certain times
of the year villages suddenly spring up and
are as suddenly abandoned at the beginning
and end of the diving season.
The formation of one of these villages is
a strange sight. Bleak and deserted wastes
of barren land suddenly become populated,
great throDgs Of people clad in gay colors
rapidly assemble. and there is a confusion
of tongues where but short time before
only the SwaSh of the ocean waves was
heard. Besides the divers there are pro-
vision dealers, boat repairers, traders, la
borers, merchants from many nations and
priests.
Before the divers begin their work there
are blessings and magic spells from priests
and sorcerers to drive away the sharks
and bring good luck. These incantations
are of course roundly paid for. The boats
start out late at night, so that operations
may begin at daybreak.
The divers have small instruments for
COMPRISING their nostrls, and beeswax
to stop the apertUres in their ears. Each
one holds block of stone between his
feet to aid his descent. Leaping from the
boat and plunging beneath the waves, the
divers reach the bottom, where they run
about swiftly and fill their bags with oys-
tiers as quickly as possible. When one is
ready to rise he gives signal and is drawn
back to his boat by a rope.
Divers cannot remain in the water for
over a minute, on an average, while two
minutes taxes the most expert. A very few
who have stayed under four or five minutes
have won great regulations for their
EXTRAORDINARY ENDURANCE.
The occupation is injurious to the health,
as it requires an immense amount of cXer-
ton. Divers are short-lived, subject to
various diseases, and have been known to
expire suddenly on reaching the surface OF
the water.