Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-04-08
common use. At one time it formed a
very important branch of this industry.

common use. At one time it formed a
very important branch of this industry.
But, after all, perhaps the prcttiest
manufacture of this family of produce
ton is the making of pearl buttons. 1t
may be that the charm lies in the ma
terial of which they are formed-thc
shell which we know to have been not
long ago lying in the realms of the deep
sea denizens and the coral beds ut the
bottom of the Indian seas. The rain
bow light cleaning from the pearl shells
before us seems to picture something OF
it's foreign surroundings; of the dusky
barbarians whose bread depends almost
entirely upon the pearl shell, and who
dived beneath the waves to reach the
wonderful homes of these shells; Of the
rustling of the palm trees stirred by the
tropic breeze blowing from the rice
fields as they came to the light of the
SUI and.blue skies for the first time, and
and boxes and shipment to PARKWAY
America.
The finest shells for this purpose come
from Singapore. The black pearl comes
from the shells of oysters that grow
around the islands in Pacific seas. They
are most plentiful around Tahiti and
Hawaii. The iridescent quality of this
pearl in the finer material shows q bril-
liant luster, giving forth all the colors
of the rainbow, and is transparent.
Pearl is a hard substance and requires
strong and exact machinery to cut 1t
without injury. The first operation after
cleansing the shell is cutting the blanks,
which is done by a tubular saw worked
in a lathe. 1t is caught and held with
an iron grip, while the saw cuts out the
disks, which are some as large as a
child's fist as seen on the shaggy over
coat of a sportsman, or the saucer-like
circles on some Of the fashionable
jackets, while others are as small as the
tiny buttons seen on baby clothes.
They are n by one clutched by a
sort Of pincers and held against q re-
volving cylinder to be polished with
sand or emery and oil. Then each one
is turned and smoothed in a lathe;
adorned with designs, stars, dots, con-
centric rings OF leaves; then corded or
milled at the edges with streaks almost
too fine to be see by the naked eye.
The figures in the middle are to mark
the holes by which the buttons are to be
sewed on. Into the small center de-
preston q hard drill fixed to q lathe de-
sends and bores the holes. The edges
Of these holes, ID every housewife
knows, are sharp. But for the cutting
of the thread in course Of time by these
edges the button might last forever.
Now and then the thin pierced bit Of
pearl in the middle breaks out, but much
oftener the button is lost by the cutting
Of the thread.
In many pearl buttons a shank Of
metal is inserted. As neither solder nor
any adhesive composition can be used
an ingenious device is resorted to. The
shank, below it's ring Of metal, is split
into the form of an inverted v; the
turner now cuts at the back of the but
ton a hole much wider at the bottom
than at the orifice; he inserts the shank
at the aperture, and q sharp tap Of the
hammer causes the A-shaped wire to
spread out fiat, and shank and button
are inseparably connected. The button
is next polished with SOAP and rotten
stone in the lathe. and 1t is done.
The scraps Of pearl left at the facto.
ries are crushed and used for q land fer.
tlizer, which purpose It serves admira-
bly,, having great enriching qualities.
A large factory will produce several
hundred tons Of this sh~ell-refuse In a
year, which 1t disposes Of for this pur.
pose. Birmingham, England, was long
the center of the button industry, but 4
has spread to various cities. Americe
has many large factories.