The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-02-01
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any other pools of water which can sus- l tattn muSselS, oysters, and other mol lusks that emit nacre, the beautiful fri
 descent secretion of which pearls are
 made. Therefore there is n9 reason why
 every family cannot have its own pearl l fishery. The pearl is an execrescence, | deformitory, a mute protest of a | helpless animal against an uncomfort- able condition 1t cannot control or es- cape. It is created by accidental or in- tentionalintruson by some foreign sub- stance into the shell of the oyster or
 mussel, which irritates the animal, and thus increases the flow of saliva or
 nacre, which cryetallizes around the offensive particle The art of cultiyat- ing pearls has been known to scientists for many years and has become a rec
 ognized industry in Wisconsin, In sever
 al parts of Europe, in China, and Japan.
 The Japanese Fisheries Society, under
 the direction of the government, has
 taken charge of the pearl fisheries in
 that empire for the purpose of extend-
 ing the industry and restoring the yield,
 which of late years has been greatly
 diminished The Bay of Ago, on the
 Pacific coast of Japan, has been select
 ed as pearl factory, and is admirably
 adapted to the culture of the mussel
 and pearl oysters, which were formerly
 found there in large quantities.
 The plan of cultivation used in Japan,
 and also in the United States and
 France, was invented by the Chinese,
 who have used it successfully for many genrations. It is an important industry in the northern part of the province of Che -Kiang. In the months of May and June large quantities of pearl bearing mussels are brought to lake where the waters are favorable and deposit- ed in the mud The shell is opened with a small instrument of mother of pearl, the mantle of the animal is generally lifted, and particle of sand, pebble, pr other foreign matter is placed care fully beneath it. The mollusks are then deposited in the water at depth of from two to five feet, where they are fed with certain vegetation, which is supposed to increase the secretions
 The French bore a hole through the shell of the oyster of the molusk and insert particle of glass, around which the saliva will adhere.
 Pearls can be made of various colors by simple process. Each mollusks de- posits it's own sort of nacre The nacre of the fresh-water mussel is pink. Pearl oysters will produce black, gray, or pure white pearls according to the part of the animal where the neucleus is lodg- ed. At the National Museum in Wash Ington there is an artificial pearl of ex- quisite pink color as large as a pigeons egg.
 Parisian jewellers are very clever in the art of ''peeling" pearls. They will | take pearl that is not pretty, remove | its outer coat and reveal a beautiful | gen within. A pearl is composed of al- l ternate layers of nacre, and animal tis- sue, and the process of peeling is very difficult. The tools employed are a sharp knife, various sorts of files, pearl powder, and a piece of leather. The oearly coats are extremely hard and must be cut off piece by piece, the, operator relying more on the sense of ouch conveyed by the blade of the lnife than on the sense of sight Pearls ound imbedded In the mother of pearl Lble by skilful trea tment with acids Experts know how to make pearls of my color black by a bath of nitrate of ' liver, and by other chemical means hey can turn them to rose color, lilac, IT gray Pearls of thes unusual tints 'ring fancy pricee.- Washington Cor Chicago Record.