Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1899-08-31

the value of a pearl depends on its sizcs7
This is not at all true. 1t depends
mainly on the color ltster, and, next, |
on its shape Another popular error
is that a pearl having an irregular,
warty or pitted surface may be cut or
ground to. desired shape and a
smooth surface. This is not The case,
as the touch Of the instrument com
pletely destroys the luster.
"As to the industry of freshwater
pearl fishing it is certainly in most
undeyeloped stage About 100000
worth of pearls are annually taken
from the streams of this country and
thissis only fraction of what the pearl
crop might be made to be every year,
forswhere there are clam or mussel
shells there are pearls. To make this
statement is easy, but to convince peo-
pie Nng along stream not known to
have Modnced pearls is difficult mat
ter. Ariver, like a prophet, has gen
orally little honor in its own country.
What! Pearls in our own home
river?' Lam asked whenever go to
new stream to set the industry in mo-
ton. Then the incredulous often add
Well, it'll be time enough to believe
that when lean dig gold out of the gar
den.'
The only way in which people can
be convinced that pearl fishing will
prove practical and profitable pursuit
is that which I invariably follow I
first hire three of four young men by
the day, paying them good wages.
Then I Instruct them how to gather
and open the shells and find the pearls.
by close calculation I have dis
covered that there is one pearl to about
every thousand shells and one pearl of
exceptional value in 10000 shells. This
ratio may be fairly relied upon 1t is
not so difficult for man to gather and
open 1000 shells a day, and this means
that the pearl fishers seldom average
under SO day and many run Is high
as S. daily for the season. AZ small
boat is used in Gathering shells. The
men wade beside the boat and use only
their hands in picking up the shells
and loading them. Opening the shells
is hard on the hands, but it 4 done
with great rapidity by those Who are
experienced. A small knifeblade is in
serted between the halves at theStwo
tendons connecting the shells. AS
these are severed the parts open and a
quick pressure OF the thumb at the
points just desthe outer rim, where
the pearls are sure to. be found if they
are there, is all thatis needed. Just as
soon as one good peerl, worth $50 to
800, is found know there is no longer
any need of missionary work in that
place and the industry will take care Of
itself. / have held to the policy of
paying fair prices for pearls with the
selfish idea that l would rather make a
fair profit on a thousand pearls than
large profit on one. The market is
still large, and all that encourages the
industry will benefit every buyer.
"a series of long and careful scien-
tific experiments in the growing of
pearls has been conducted by Vane
Simmons of Charles City, Iowa. I
visited his place and learned much
from him. He has demonstrated that
tiny, hard, globular particleimplanted
just within the,shell of clam will pro-
duce pearl in about two years, but
his experiments have not tended to
show that the culture can be made
profitable. The life of clam I is FIVE
to eight years, but the growing period
is not over three years.
1T is interesting to know that the
aborigines OF this country appreciated
the beauty of pearls quite as much as
do the most cultivated Americans of
today. w. E. Myer of Carthage, Tenn,
opened an Indian burial place and
found gorget' or necklace of scallops
strung with pearls. The latter were of
remarkable size, but long burial and
contact with the earth had rendered
them chalky and valueless. Professor
Warren X. Moorehead of the Ohio
State university and Professor G. w.
Putnam of Harvard university opened
a sacrificial mound near the great Ser
pent mound in Ohio and took from it
two bushels Of pearls. All were ruined
and bore evidence OF having been sub
jected to a hot fire at the time they
were offered in sacrifce-probably to
stay the ravages Of a plague or the IN
vasion of an enemy
In his private collection Mr.. Myer
has necklace made for member of
the household of Napoleon and long
the property of an old New York fam
lily. It is one of the most remarkable
of artistic pearl grouping
known and required the laDor of four
men for six months. Its thousands of
pearls are strung on silk and horse
hair and the design is most elaborate.
Mr.. Myers home was in Carthage,
Tenn, and the early discovery of pearls
in a stream near the town attracted his
attention while he was attending Har-
ward university. He took many pearls
North with him at the end of each va
cation as gifts to his friends and class
mates. This led him to .ook into the
commercial possibilities of the pearl
industry. Immediately on leaving the
he began to develop the
fresh-water pearl interests of America
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