Oxford Democrat., 1899-09-05

1Hsr ARE FINER THAN THOSE sEcuR-
KID IN THE ORIENT.

what is clsimed to be the largest COZ
lection Of pearls BY ono man Ii In the
collection OF Herman Meyer Of New
York, who II stopping ct the Palmer
House, says the Chicago Inter Ocean.
His collection measures half gallon,
and reprssents q cost price Of el2 900.
The treasure is lncased In an ordinary
shot bag.
This remarkable collection Of pearls 10
the result Of q purchasing trip through
the Nlsslssippi valley, and contains
pearls from wisconsin, Tennessee,
Arkansas, and other ststes. They were
taken from claims 10 the small streams
throughout the Mississippi valley, and
tributaries, and bought BY Mr.. Meyer
from local jewellers.
The finest OF the collection 10 large
pearl valued at s600 Speaking Of this
pearl Mr.. Meyer said:
''The pearl for which | willingly paid
600 was taken from the Clluch River,
10 Eastern Tennessee, snd was bought
by the local dealer for 4l00. know OF
no other pearl In this country that is
superior to this In sIxe, lustre, and all
the other points which 60 to make q
perfect specimen, with the exception OF
that owned by Mr.. Stetson OF Philadel-
phia. That is far superior to mine, and
cost $500"
Mr.. Meyer Is we'll posted on the his
tory Of pearl fishing in the United
States. Fresh-wxter pearl fishing was
first taken up at Psterson, N. D., In
1883, and In the Little Miami river 10
Ohio about the same time. Large col
lections Of pearls have been found In
Indian mounds OF Ohio. Most Of these
are drilled for stringiug as beads and
are corroded by age.
In 1883 pearls were discovered 10 the
Cumberland river in Tennessee, and that
river has yielded q pearl crop worth
Sl50,000 annually. Said Mr.. Meyer:
.'No finer white pearls are found any
where than those taken from the Ten
uessec streams. These have the bril-
liant dlver-white luster which distin-
gulshes the American from the Oriental
pearl. The latter has creamy tint.
1.-The finest, and, indeed, costliest
pearls iu the world are taken from the
Sugar River In wisconsin. This stream
empties into the Rock River In the
northern extremity of this state. Pearls
Of beautiful metallic green and possess
Ing superb luster are peculiar TO this
little wisconsin stream. Generally
speaking, these pearls are worth about
three times as much ~ frst-clsss white
specimens. Nothing found In the
Orient approaches 10 beauty the superb
green pearls OF Sugar river.
"Thc greatest find In the fresh-water
field 10 that Of White River, Arkansas,
discovered 10 1879. The year following
the opening OF these fisheries they Yield
ed at the lowest calculation et0O, 600
worth Of exquisitely colored pearls
which were brought TO New York aud
shipped to Paris, where the demand for
this variety is strong. Hundreds Of
negroes came up from Memphis and
worked the White River beds.
"The most expert and conservative
dealers In pearls are now ready to admit
that the silvery globe taken from the
American clan IL superior 20 the Oriental
article. The former has the brilliant
luster OF drop Of mercury, while the
latter b more like globule OF cream.
London Il the great pearl market, and
the dealers there ut nrst said the Ameri-
can pearls would not retain their beauty ;
bat this Was only an excuse TO gain time
In which to dispose of the Orientsls.
They thought America would food the
market. On the contrary, the supply
OF pearls has never been equal TO the
demand. and the demand Is constantly
and rapidly increasing.
AS to the industry OF fresh-water
pearl fishing, II IL certainly 10 = most
undevelopcd stage. About e50O, 600
worth Of pearls are annually taken from
the streams OF this country, and this IL
oaly q fraction OF what the pearl crop
might be every year, for where there
are clam or mussel shells, there are
pearls. To make this statement Il easy,
bat 10 convince people living along =
stream not known TO have produced
pearls 10 q difficult matter. A river, like
q prophet, has generally little honor In
la own country. What! Pearls 10 our
own home riverg ! am asked whenever
90 to new stream TO set the industry
In motion. Then the incredulous often
add: We'll, it'il be time enough TO be-
Aeve that when can dig gold out oi
the garden
"A series OF long and careful scien-
tific experiments 10 the growing OF pearls
has been conducted by Vsne Simmons
OF Charles City, Iowa. ! visited his
place and learned much from him. lie
has demonstrated that . tiny, hard,
globular particle implanted just within
the shell OF clam will produce pearl
ln about two years, but his experiments
have not tended TO show that the culture
can be made profitable. The life OF =
clam Is i've TO eight years, but the grow
log period is not over three years"