The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-06-08
PEARLS IN The OYSTER
The Panciful Legends Current In The
0lden Time.
How the Pure Gems are Obtained
Oft0n at the Cost OF the Seek
er's life-A SolIdIfied Dew
drop.

romances. Yet such wal stated by early
writers to he the origin OF the pearl, that
gem which Is deemed worthy to deck the
brow of royalty, which adorns fair ome
which Is the delight OF the treasurc-hunt-
er, and which in all ages has becn the
symbol OF beauty, purity and worth. This
theory Is advanced by Pliny and Bocthius
says Of the Scotch pearl mussel: "These
mussels early in the morning, when the
sky Is clear M temperate, open their
mouths q little above the water and most
grecdily swallow the dew OF heaven; and
after the quantity aud measure Of dew
which they swallow they conceive and
breed the pearl"
This pretty onceit, however, il brushed
away by the stern realities of sober fact.
Tho keen eye OF science has discovered
that the birth OF a pearl is anything but a
poetical affair. II is due to an accident,
and to OF those provisions OF nature
by which every living creature resists for
eign attack and seeks to protect itself
from injury. The oyster pearl springs
into existence in two different ways. The
first Is by the Introduction nto the ami
maj Of q foreign substance. In some UNI
guarded moment the oyster may permit q
minute grain OF sand to slip into its dom.
icile n lodge between the flesh and the
shell. Tho oyster il powerless to expel
the intruding substance. which soon be-
comes q source Of irritation. There is but
n remedy. The animal begins to cover
the grain of and with q coat OF membrane
followed by q layer Of calcareous matter
called nacre. This is identical with
mother-of-pearl, that beautiful lining of
the shell which reflects all the colors of
the rainbow as we'll as the most delicate
and subtle tints. Nacre Is constantly
exuded from the body of the oyster, the
cookie, the nautilus, the snail and other
animals of the mollusk order, and forms
their outer covering, hard or soft, thick or
thin, according TO the protection de-
manded by their surroundings. Around
the ~intruding grain of sand which has
been mentioned accumulate alternate
layers of membrane and nacre until a
pearl Is formed.
These pears, however, are not the vahi-
able 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 fire.
quently adhere to the shell and conse-
quently present one rough side.
The perfect pearl is found loose in the
interior of the fish. and has its beginning
in an animal germ. The oyster annually
produces q number of eggs, which, as
500 as they develop into diminutive ami
mails, are thrown out Of the mother. De-
casionally, however, an egg proves abor-
tive and remains behind. Il Is almost mi
croscopic in size and Is inclosed In a tiny
capsule. This capsule now becomes to
all intents and purposes n foreign sub
stance. But II has certain powers akin
to those OF the present, one of
which Is that OF manufacturing. throwing
out and gathering around itself nacre. The
nacre completely envelopes il and the
germ Of an animal Is soon incased in a
beautiful prison, usually spherical in form,
but sometimes e n shaped. This is the
true pearl. Its size, Of course, depends on
the length of time to which the process Is
continued,a s the pearl is enlarged by rom
slant deposits from year to year.
The most famou pearl fisheries i'm the
world are near the coasts of Ceylon, Japan,
Java and Sumatra and i'm the Persian
gulf; although pearls i'm limited quanti-
ties are obtained in the streams of vari-
ous countries. Ceylon, however. stands
I'm the greatest renown for its pearls and
pearl-divers. Ceylon is an island I'm the
Indian Ocean, about fifty miles south of
Hindoostan. 1t presents great contrast of
scenery, from precipitous m picturesque
rocks TO level plains of sand. The pearl
oyster banks are on the west coast, and
there, at certain times of the year, villages
suddenly spring up n are as suddenly
abandoned at h 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 throngs
of people clad i'm gay colors rapidly as
semble, and there Is n confusion Of
tongues. where but n short time before
only the swash of the ocean waves were
heard. Besides the divers there are pro-
vision dealers, boat repairers, traders,
laborers, merchants from many nations
and priests.
Before the divers begin their work there
are blessings and magic spells from
priests and sorccrers to drive away the
49, I.,..- xnnI 1..aI Tl..a. In
carnations 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
compressing their nostrils and beeswax
to stop the apertures In their ears. Each
his feet TO aid his descent. Leaping
from the boat and plunRing beneath the
waves, the divers reach the bottom, where
they run about swiftly and MI their bags
with oysters as quickly as possible. When
one is ready to rise he gives q sigma and
is drawn back to his boat by a rope.
Divers cannot remain in the water over
a minute on the average, while two min
utes taxes the most expert. A very few
who have staid under our or five min
utes have won great regulations for their
extraordinary endurance.
The occupation Is injurious to the
health, as IL requires "a tremendous
amount of exertion. Divers are short.
lived, subject tn various diseases and
have been known TO expire suddenly
upon reaching the surface of the water.
One popularity Of pearls Is that, unlike
other precious gems, they IN liable to
decay. Occasionally a valuable pearl
changes color, seems to be attacked with
n deadly disease and crunbles
into dust. Such is reputed to
have been the fate Of the most magnii-
cent specimen ever known. IL was found
hrsn ignorant fisherman, who disposed
of Il for an insignificant sum. Passing
through successive hands, Il finally be-
came the property of a Russian merchant
and found q possessor who knew It's Inn
mense value aud priEed il accordingly:
He kept IL carefully In a secluded room OF
his magnificent mansion, apart from all
other OF his treasures. IL was the wonder
were permitted 20 look at il. The mer-