The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-10-03

A process for making real pearls by
article u the basis OF an application
for patent newly liled by an ingenious
person. who expects 10 iind in his in
vcntion source OF wealth compared
with which Monte Cristo's means were
poverty. The material OF which pearls
are composed are cheap enough. says
the Washington Star. Take the 81 ell
OF pearl oyster and remove by grind
ing or with an acid the rough outer
coat What have you let's
A sheet OF perhaps m eight OF an
inch In thickness OF pure pearl. the
precise substance which tho biyalvc
deposits around any foreign body. like
a grain OF sand or occasionally "a little
fish. TINT gets caught under It's mantle.
thus producing the pearls OF commerce.
Why not take this sheet OF nacre dis
solve IL Ia acid and then redeposit the
pearl in layers about buckshot eus-
pended In the solution. thus initiating
as nearly as possible the method Of
naturcp II II were practicable to make
pearls mt all IN this way perfect ones
could be formed every time. OF any
shape desired.
There would be no difficulty In turn
ing them out as big as billiard balls.
The trouble is that the concrctions
thus obtained would be mere Jumps OF
carbonate OF lime. lacking entirely the
irrldescence which in the pearls is due
To a structure. III Is claimed. however.
by this inventor that he has overcome
the difficulty. so as TO be able not only
20 manufacture pearls but also the
plate articles with the material rs
forks and spoons are coated with sill
Yer.
Conchologist Dali OF the Smithso-
nian Institution. speaking about the
practicability OF pearl manufacture.
exhibited very remarkable treasure
II was n pearl us big as a pigeons egg,
OF most exquisite rose color and the
receptacle containing il was the fresh
water mussel. wherein 1t had been
originally formed Explanation was
made that the nucleus OF this incom-
parable gem was nothing more or less
than oval lump Of beeswax. which had
been placed "A few years ago between
the valves OF tho mullusx.
To protect itself against irritation
by this foreign body the animal sur
rounded il with the pink nacre it
secreted for lining its she'll. thus trans
forming the bit OF wax into an orna-
ment TT for royal crown. The mus
sci which produced this thing of beau
" grew in an Ohio river and was kept
in an aquarium while performing it's
unwilling task. IL Is a species OF
bivalve plentiful in streams all over
| the United States. and there Is no rea-
son whatever why anyone cannot make
pearls in this way by keeping n few
"unios. MS they are called. In a tank
1T home. Care should be taken TO in
troduco the intended nuclei well under
the mantle OF the fish. not making
them 10 large. because an object the
size OF pea will acquire thickness
of nacre much more rapidly than IL
there Is a greater surface 20 be covered.
IL seems rather curious that this
method OF making pearls should not
have proved commercial success in
! Europe. where il has been known for
more than two centuries. LinnTus.
the famous naturalist received knight
hood in 1857 for his discovery OF the
process but the trouble appears TO be
that IL is too slow TO be satisfactory as
a means Of turning out pearls on amy
scale for market
For thousands OF years the Chinese
have known how TO cause oysters and
mussels TO form pearl TO order. The
monks at Pm sa CHI pang place in
side the shells small figures OF Buddha
cut out of very thin lead foil. These
are sooa made part OF the shell itself
by being covered over with a deposit
OF nacre and the valves thus adorned
with sacred pictures in relief are sold
by the willy priests so pilgrims who
suppose them TO be OF miraculous
origin.