The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-30
Some Interesting Experiments Show
ing How It 10 Done.
From the Springfield Republican.

From the Springfield Republican.
A Frenchman named Bouchon- Brandely
has been making interesting experiments
IN this direction recently. He bored holes
in the shells of pearl oysters with a GIN
let. introduced through the perforations
little balls of glass and stopped the open
ings with corks. At the end of four
weeks the balls were found to be covered
with a thin layer of pearl. In six months
the layer was sufficiently thick to be per-
manent. The size of the gem thus manu-
featured is in proportion to the time that
has elapsed. OF course, it has a limit,
.nasmuch as the mollusk will not deposit
nacre indefinitely, the only purpose of
the nacre being to protect the oyster from
irritation by the intruding object.
Pearls can be made of various coors by
q. very simple process. Each molluslz de-
posits its own sort of nacre. The nacre
Of the Pearl-bearing, fresh water mussel
called the union is pink. Pearl oysters
produce black pearls, gray pearls or pearls
of pure white, according to the part of
the animal where the nucleus takes it's
Judgment. At the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington is exhibited an artificial
pearl as big as q pigeons egg and of an
exquisite pink color 1T is formed about
u DNi4tL OL DGtSNcA WHICH was placed IOF
the purpose in the shell of a living unio.
Recent experiments made by the fish
commission show that marine mollusks
can be kept admirably in aquariums.
Thus there seems to be no reason why
every one should not maintain his own
pearl fishery on a small scale, collecting
the crop at suitable intervals.
The Chinese have been most successful
in producing artificial pearls. The bust
ness constitutes an important industry. 1t
is confined to two villages in the northern
part of the province of Chih-Kiang. In
the months of May and June large guam
titles of mussels are brought in baskets
from a lake thirty miles distant and the big
gest of them are selected for the opera
ton that is to be formed. Into the
shell of each mullusk are introduced small
objects which it is intended the bivalve
shah coat with the pearly substance it
secretes. Sometimes little balls of earth
are used. Such pellets are made of mud
from the bottom of water courses dried
and powdered with the juice of the seeds
of the camphor tree.
To place these nuclei inside of the mus
sells is a process of no little difficulty. The
shell is opened with a small instrument of
mother-of- pearl, the mantle of the animal
is gently lifted, and the pellets are laid
beneath the mantle. The shell is then
permitted to close. Finally the molusks
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 5000
or $1,000. In November they are lifted
and opened The animals are removed
from the shells and the pellets are de-
taehed with a sharp knife. BY this time
they are fastened tightly to the inner sur
face of the shells and have become COW
cred with acoating of nacre. Next a little
hole is cut in each pearl at the point where
it has been attached, to the shell of
the mussel. Through this opening the
earth which composed the nucleus is re-
moved. The hollow pearl Is then filed
with melted yellow rosin and the orihee
is artfully covered with piece of mother
of-pearl. The pearls thus formed are fat
on the bottom and in shape are somewhat
more than hemispheres. They have much
of the lustre and beauty of the real gems
and are sold so cheaply as to be procured
by all who care to possess them. They
are employed to a considerable extent by
jewellers, who set them in tiaras and va
rious ornaments for women