Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-08-24

pouring solution Of gum arabic or
lslnglaSS over Il piece of pearl and
allowing it to harden On being re-
moved the sheet of iSinglaSS or gum
arabic. having taken a perfect impress
sion from the pearl. exhibits the same
peculiar iridescence. The same optical
phenomenon was initiated some years
ago by John Barton, an officer of the
British mint, who succeeded in cutting
grooves on steel at distances of 10000
of an inch apart. The metal surface.
thus treated displayed most brilliant
colors The idea was applied to the
manufacture of buttons. which We're
stamped with steel dies that had such
delicate lines engraved on them
The shells of pearl oysters are COM
monty occupied by animals called by
the fisherman ''messmateS," which
seem to live on friendly terms with
the mollusks. These are crabs and
lobster-like crustaceans. 1t is suppos-
ed that these creatures perform the
Othce OF scaYengers, clearing the shell
| of some of the foreign substances
which drift into it and annoy the oy-
ster. Such objects as the mollusk can
not get rid of it protects itself from
| by covering them with layers of nacer
1t is in this way that pearls are form
ed. Ii the object is between the shell
and the body of the oyster the latter
treats it in the same way, fastening it
to the shell by what is termed a "blis-
ter" In as much as the animal is con-
tinually depositing fresh layers of
pearly substance on the inside of it's
shell while the shell is steadily decay
ing on the outer surface, the foreign
! body in the course of time is actually
passed through the shell and thus cot
rid of
The use of er-Of-pearl for ar
ticles of ornament is of no recent date.
| Objects made of it have been found
by digging in the ruins of ancient Nine
yah and Babylon. 1t was only a few
years ago that the so-called smoked
pearl came into use for the manu-
facture of buttons. Previously the
black-edged shells, from which this
sort of pearl is obtained, had been
| thrown away, being considered worth
less. Buttons of smoked pearl having
| become the rage, it was remembered
that large quantities of dark shells had
been buried in certain places at Birm-
ingham England, to get rid of them
Many of them were dug up and sold
to great advantage
| The most extraordinary pearl in the
world, according to Dr. Streeter, is
known as .the Southern Cross" 1t is
probably the most remarkable thing of
its kind that nature has ever produced.
so Ear as is known it occupies an abso-
lutelv unique position in the history of
pearls. 1t consists Of a group of nine
pearls naturally grown together in so
regular a manner as to form an almost
| perfect Latin cross. Seven of them
compose the shaft, which measures an
inch and a half in length, while the
two arms of the cross are formed bv
one pearl on eacn side. All the pearls
are OF me luSter. This astonishing
freak was discovered by Il man named
Clark, while pearl fishing in western
Australia. He regarded it as Il miracle
and, entertaining Il SupeTStitiouS dread
OF 1t, he buried it. In 1879 It WAS dug
up again, and since then it has chang
ed hands many times. It's value is set
| at $4,000 How it came about that
! these pearls were grouped together in
such Il manner no one has vet been
able to explain satisfactorily It has
been suggested that 4 fra gnBent of ser
rated seaweed may have got into the
shell of the oyster and that the sue
ceSSiOn of teeth along the margin of
the frond may have caused the deposi-
| ton of nacer at regular Intervals, 50
as to form a string of pearls In a
straight line. The cross WAS found in
the shell of the mollusk, just as it
was taken from it's native element.
without any possibility Of it's having
been subjected to human manipuIa-
! ton.
| Workers in mOther-of- Pearl OCCASION
ally find real pearls embedded in the
shells. When a pearl gets between
the shell and the body of q living oy-
ster the latter treats it as it would any
other foreign object. closing it up in
the wall of the shell by means of a
! blister. Thus it sometimes happens
| CudJ OH CulIlUS luJO al DllSttT al line
pearl is dislodged. On one occasion a
pearl cutter got a pearl in this way
which he sold for 5000. Subsequently
it was valued at $4,000.
1t used to be imagined that pearls
were found only in diseased shell fish.
They were called morbid secretions."
To this day many people throw away
as unfit for use a muSsel or oyster
in which a pearl is found. However,
there is no reason for such a notion.
4 pearl is formed about any foreign
body that is retained between the
shells of a healthy oyster or other
nacre-prOducing molluSk. The nucleus
may be a grain of sand or even one of
the eggs of the oyster itself. Around
this thin layer of nacre are desposited
one after another, like the successive
skins of an onion, thus forming the
pearl. The substance of the latter is
the same as that Of the shell.
Black pearls used to be held as Of
small value, comparatively speaking.
They were first made fashionable by
the Empress Eugene, wife Of Napoleon
Ill, who possessed a famous necklace
Of them. which fetched $4,000 at auc-
ton after the overthrow of the i'm
perial dynasty. This did not include
the single great pearl forming the
snap, which was purchased by the
Marquis of Bath for $1,000. Mexico,