Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-08

June large quantities Of mussels are brought in
baskets from q lake thirty miles distant, and
the biggest Of the mollusks are selected for the
operation that is to be performed
Into the shell Of each mussel are introduced
q number OF small objects which it is intended
that the bivalve shall coat with the pearly sub
stance 1t secretes. Sometimes little pills Of
earth are used. Such pellets are made Of mud,
taken from the bottom OF water courses. dried
and powdered with the juice of camphor tree
seeda In the same way are employed
diminutive images. usually of Buddha but often
OF fishes. They are made Of lead, cast very
thin BY pouring the molten metal upon board
which is carved with the impressions.
DELICATE PROCESS.
To place these nuclei inside Of the mussels is
usually opened with small instrument Of
Is gently lifted. At tho same time the images
or pills are laid in two rows beneath the man
tel. The shell Is then permitted to close.
Finally. the mollusks are deposited in canals or
pools, five or six inches apart. at depths Of from
two to five feet in lots of 5000 to 50. 600
In November the mussels are collected and
opened. The animals are removed from the
shells and the pellets or images detached
by sharp knife BY this time they are fastened
tightly to the inner surface Of the shells and
have become covered with a coating OF nacre
Tho next process is to cut away the matrices of
earth or lead about which the artificial pearls
have formed Into the cavity thus made in
each one Is poured melted yellow resin. and the
orifce is artfully covered over by piece Of
mother of-pearl.
The pearls formed about the earthen pellets
are hat on the bottom and III shape are some
what more than hemispheres. They have much
OF the luster and beauty Of tho real gems. and
are sold at a rate 80 cheap as to be procurable
by all who care to possess them. They are en-
ployed to a considerable extent by jewelers.
who set them i'll tiaras and various ornaments
OF female attire. Those made from images are
caps Of children. A few shells are sent to mar
kct with the pearls adhering, for sale to the
curious or superstitlous
Another ingenious art practiced by the Chi
nese is that Of taking" pearls. 1t consists in
peeling them, that Is to say, depriving them of
imperfect outer layers in order to mako them
more beautiful. As is well known, these gems
are composed Of alternate LAYERS of nacre and
animal tissue. The process referred to IL very
difficult, the tools employed being a sharp
knife, various sorts of files. some pearl powder
and piece of leather. To make tho final
polish particular kind of leaf il utilized. The
pearly eoats are extremely hard and must be
cut off piece by piece, the operator relying
more on the sense Of touch conveyed by the
blade Of the knife than on tho sense OF sight.
FEELING THE PEARLS.
Peeling is sometimes practiced by skillfu
jewelers. in Europe. A few years ago an ex-
pert in such matters purchased an old gold
brooch IN small German town for $40. In
tae center Of it was what looked like n spherical
piece OF hemat;te. which is an ore of iron On
examination 1t proved to be superb black
pearl weighing n grains. The outer coat had
become faded by sunlight. but. when it was
removed, ono Of the most beautiful gems of
this sort known in modern times was exposed
to view OF lustrous b!nck. 1t was held to be
worth $4,000. Perfectly round pearls over rs
grains in weight are extremely scarce and
fetch huge prices, being sought after to form
the center OF necklaces
Pearls are found in the shells Of many kinds
OF mollusks. They occur in the common edible
oyster, but are not Of value. Very large white
ones are occasionally obtained from the giant
clam, which is the biggest known bivalve, but
they are not worth much. They are always
symmetrical and OF some beauty. having faint
but pleasing sheen when looked at sideways
The shells Of the giant clam are occasionally
u sed for baptismal fonts in churches. The ami
NAL is found, buried up to the lips hinge down
ward. in coral reefs. Men have lost their lives
by stepping between the open valves, which
closed Immediately upon the foot, holding them
until thew drowned.
II is said that pearls Of a vellowish color are
sometimes obtained from the pcary nautilus.
But the natives OF the Sooloo Archipelago throw
them away, considering them unlucky. They
declare that. if a man should fight while wear
ing ring with such pearl. he would certainly
be killed. Pearl-bearing mussels are found in
the lakes and streams Of many parts of the
world, including the United States. These
mOllusks have Welded great numbers of valu-
able gems in this country, so that attempts
have been made to establish pearl fishing on a
commercial basis in some rivers.
no oh OF .,F 90
pearl shells are the &Torres Straits and West
Australian fisheries and the trade centers Of
Singapore and Macassar. Innumerable islands
OF the Pacific contribute more or less Of this
valuable product-notably Tahiti. Three
varieties are recognized commonly-the white.
the black edged and the golden edged. This
statement refers to the pearl oyster, which
furnishes the finest mother of-pearl. The
shells Of single oyster have been known to
weigh as much as fourteen pounds. The ut
most economy and skill are exercised in cutting
up the shells. each part being made to serve
some particular purpose. Thus, from a single
one Of good size will be obtained penholder, a
pistol butt, two or three knife handles. q poker
chip and dozen and half buttons Of different
sizes.
WHAT CAUSES THE BEAUTIFUL HUEs.
II is fact familiar enough that the beautiful
iridescent hues Of motber-o Of pearl are due to
the interruption of light by the wavy lines ON
its surface. Each Of these lines is the edge Oft
very thin plate lying obliquely to the surface
That the coloring Is purely matter Of structure
is proved by pouring q solution Of gum arabic
or isinglass over piece Of pearl and allowing it
to harden. On being removed the sheet of
isinglass or gum arabic having taken q perfect
impression from the pearl exhibits the same
peculiar iridescence. The same optical phe-
nomenon was initiated some years ago bv John
Barton, an officer Of the British mint, who sue
ceeded in cutting grooves on steel at distances
of lilo. 000th Of an inch apart. The metal sur
face thus treated displayed most brilliant
colors. The iden was applied to the manufac-
ture Of buttons. which were stamped with steel
dies that had such delicate lines engraved on
them.
The shells Of pearl oysters are commonly oc-
cupied by animals called by the fishermen
mess mates" which seem to live on friendly
terms with the mollusks These are crabs and
lobster like crustaceans. On the West Australian
grounds each living oyster contains a soft
shelled brown crab about an inch i'll width 1t
Is said to be poisonous. Elsewhere on the
coast the crabs place is taken by two soft trans
parent looking Holsters, family tinted with red.
One is three times - large as the other and
probably they are male and female. They are
very good to eat. In the Sooloo Archipelago
two Holsters are almost invariably found in
each shell. When the latter is closed the mess
mate retires within a hollow place near the
hinge, and this cavity is called by the fishermen
the HOLSTERS home"
the Office Of scavengers, clearing the shell of
some of the foreign substances which drift into
it and annoy the oyster. Such objects as the
mOIlnsk cannot rid of protoc itcal RON,