The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-02
PEARLSGROWN TOORDER
THEY CAN BE MADE or ANY DESIR.
ED COLOR WITH Ma TURE'S AID.
The Cultivation Of the Pearl Oysters AID
ths Manufacture Of Artificial Pssfl'-
The Cleopatra story n Myth,

eerIbes the guilty. alton OF the pearl oys-
Ter. which Is being carried on Win sue
cess in the bay OF AGO, on the Pasiic
Of water, three miles long ana Two miles
broad, IL always calm, and is admiIaoiy
adapted for the culture OF the monush'
Pearl oysters were originally havVe Iters,
and we're found in great quantities flsh-
ing for them has been carried on Ior
three or four centuries. OWING 10 over
fshing the yield between 1889 and 1888
was greatly diminished.
Fearing that the oysters would be-
come extinct, experiments were mace
with a view or propagating them artih-
{iaIly. This plan was suggested Dy me
late Admiral Yanagi. PRESIDENT Oh me me
Japan Fisheries Society. During the
breeding season the taking Of the shell
fsh was forbidden, and spat was collect
ed en- tiles, stones, logs. ana ropes, the
methods adopted being the same as nay
been tried successfully with the edipie
oysters of America and Europe. In TINS
way the yield Of pearls has been re-
stored, and the japanese Government
contemplates an extension OF the hous-
try In other waters ,o,,nd
Before this methods had been foupa
for the production OF real pearls WIZ
Natures aid. A F'rencnman nameu
Bouchon -Brandely has been naSint don
teresting experiments In this direSht dpl
recently. He bored holes In the sIell3
of pearl oysters with "A gim.et, intToluce1
through the perforations htue paIIs "
glass and stopped the openings WIN SO 1,,nra
At the end of four weeks the Datls WEI s
found TO be covered with thlh myeI %
pearl In six months the layer Was SUI SUI
Iiciently thick 10 be permanent Inc eI1e
of the gem thus manuiact uieu ,,s si 0f
portion to the time that has elapsed VI
course, IL has a limit, lnasmuCh az ~.
Inollusk will not deposit nacre lnuei,Il a.as,
ly, the only purpose OF the hacre pe' t's,
10 protect the oyster from Hrlla'io" ~
the intruding object ,... ..,e,., -,
Pearls can be made Of various foiofs by
q very simple process. Bacn moll1sk ue-
posts its own sort OF nacre Inc mare
OF the pearl-bearing, fresh water inusseI
called the unto, is pink. Pearl oysters
produce black pearls, grey pears VI
pearls Of pure white. according 10 the
part Of the animal whe ere h GG1G
Institution In WASHINGTON Is exhibited an
artificial pearl as big as a pigeon 5 egg
and OF an exquisite pink color. III II lorin~
ed about pellet of beeswax whiGh %as
placed for the purpose in the smell OF a
fIvng unto. Recent experiments mace py
The Fish Commission show that marine
moliusks can be kept admirably III aqua
RUINS. Thus there seems TO pc no reason sol.
why every one should not MAINTAIN ms
own pearl fishery on small scale, COL
lecting the crop at suitable Intervals
The Chinese have been most successful
in producing artificial pearls, Ihe Dusl-
ness constitutes an important industry. 1t
s. confined 10 two villages IN the llortn-
ern part Of the province OF Cmh-hiang.
in the months OF May and June large
quantities OF mussels are Drougnt III
baskets from lake thirty miles distant,
and the biggest of them are selected TOT
the operation that is TO be performed
Into the shell Of each mollusk are lntIo,
duced small objects which ii Is INTENDED
fhs biyalye shall coat with the pearly
substance 1t secretes. sometimes niue
balls OF earth are used. Such pellets are
made OF mud from the bottom OF water
courses, dried and powdered with the
- ha M
To place these nuclei inside or the
Inussels Is a process of no little diff1culty.
The shell is opened with small lnstru[
ment of mother-of-pearl, the manue OF
the animal is gently lifted, and the pellets
are laid beneath the mantle. The shell
IS then permitted TO close. Finally the
moliusks are deposited In canals or pools
They are placed five TO six inches apart
at depths of from two to five feet. In
lots OF 800 so $1,000. III November they
are lifted and opened The animals are
removed from the shells and the pellets
are detached with a sharp knife; By
this time they are fastened tightly 10
the inner surface Of the shells and have
become covered with a coating OF nacre.
Next little hole is cut in each pearl al
the point where IL has been attached TO
the shell OF the mussel. Through TINS
opening the earth which composed the
nucleus is removed. The hollow pearl Is
then flied with melted yellow rosin, ana
the orihce is artfully covered with a
piece OF mother-of-pearl The pearls thus
formed are flat on the bottom and in
shape are somewhat more than hemis-
pheres. They have much OF the luStre
and beauty of the real gems, and are
sold so cheaply as to be pIocurable by
all who care TO possess them. Ihey are
employed TO a considerable extent by
Jewellers, who set them In tiaras ana
various ornaments for women.
Partisan jewelers. are very clever IN
the art Of "peeling" pearls. They VII!
take a pearl that is not pretty at all and
a. IL
tiful gem within. a pearl is composed of
alternate layers of nacre and animal It's
sue, and the process or peelng is very
difficult. The tools employed are sharp
knife various sorts of flies, pearl powder,
and a piece of leather. The pearly coats
are extremely hard and must be cut or
piece by piece, the operator relying more
on the seuse of touch conveyed by the
blade of the knife than on the sense of
sight. Pearls found embedded in the
mother of-pearl of the oyster shell are
made marketable by skiiful treatment
with acids. Experts know how TO make
pearls OF any color black In bath OF
nitrate OF silver and by other chemical
means they can turn them to rose-coior,
lilac or gray. Pearls of these unusual
tints bring fancy prices.
A few years ago pearl shop purchased
an old gold brooch in a small German
town for 500. In the centre OF 1t was
what looked like a spherical piece of
hematite, which is an ore of iron. On
examination II proved to be a superb
black pearl weighing seventy-seven
grains. The outer coat had become rad
ed by sunlight, but when II was removed
one OF the most beautiful gems OF this
kind known in modern times was expos
ed to view. 1t was lustrous black and
was said 10 be worth $4,000. Perfectly
round pearls over twenty-five grains in
weight are scarce and fetch huge prices,
being sought after TO form the centres
OF necklaces.
Pearls are not TO be regarded as a
good permanent investment like dia,
celebrated pearls OF the world to-day is
very old. After they have been buried IN
the ground for While they become
worthless. Some of the prehistoric saw
ages of this country possessed collections
OF pearls which would be enormously val
liable now IL they had been preserved.
Immense quantities OF them have been
found in mounds. many, being Of great
size but they have no value All of them
are perforated for the purpose of at
taching them to wearing apparel. and
most OF them have been destroyed by the
action OF wafer. \ few exhibit some I'll
descence when the outer coats are peeled
of
These prehistoric pearls are not found
IN any quantity outside of the Miami
and Scioto valleys in Ohio. They seem 10
have been used by the more civilized
tribes and to have been employed extern
sively as a medium of exchange They
were the property of persons OF distinc-
tion, some OF whom doubtless wore splen-
did nantes covered with pearls. When
the owners died, their pearls were de-
posted with the remains From 4 group
OF mounds In the Miami Valley Prof
Putnam secured half bushel OF pearls.
nearly every one blackened by fire. some
cracked and all impaired I'm lustre.
90 pearls were obtained. Pearls were
frequently set in bears teeth for orna-