Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-18

planting and cultivating the pearl oyster
Of Australia lead one to suppose that
pearl ostreiculture in the warm waters OF
the United States is by no means an i'm
possibility.
In contemplating the simple yet perfect
beauty OF the pearl, the thought OF its
successful imitation seems absurd. Yet no
gem is initiated with better result or to a
greater extent. Some of these limitations
are 80 perfectly constructed. even to the
copying OF defects, that. except in lack OF
weight and durability, they can scarcely
be distinguished from the genuine even
when placed side by side.
The making Of artificial pearls origin
ated at least 800 years ago. NJ. Lazari. in
his "NotiEie dele opere d'arte e d'autich-
ita," speaks Of ~pearl-mAking having been
established at Vienna and Murano a.
early as 1913. and was even then Of sum
Client Importance to warrant an express
statute for its regulation. These early
limitations were made Of pearl shell and OF
alabaster shaped like pearls and covered
with cement composed largely OF powdered
mother-of-pearl
An old Method.
A more important discovery was the use
OF glass beads lined with pearl-like ma
terial. This process confers immortality
on the name OF Andrea Vidoare, to whom
we owe II not the discovery at least the
perfecting OF this method about 1923. Hol-
low glass beads or spheres were lined on
the interior with tinted varnisheS contain
ing a quantity OF mercurial preparations.
Imitation pearls are yet made In this man
ner In Venice. They are very cheap, how
ever, and the imitation is a poor one,
rarely deceiving even the uninitiated.
The NRaafaSt iurnROyapnank In unaEtnR A.
tincial pearls was the use Of an extract
from FISH scales, commonly known as es-
sence d'orient. This Is sad to have been
the invention Of Noise NJ. Joaquin, or JAG
Quin, a rosary maker In Paris, about the
year 1880. Jaquin's general process is in
use at the present time, but 1t has been
improved In certain details. So excellent
is the result that some Of the choicest OF
the limitations are scarcely distinguishable
from the genuine In regard to color, orient
and luster,
The scales most commonly used for pro-
ducing the essence d'orient are of the bleak
Lecaecisous alburus), but most Of the
cyprinidas, or herring, family, are avail
able. as well as many other varieties hav-
ing small scales with a silvery sheen. The
brighter the scales the more desirable
they are for this purpose. As soon as
practicable after the hsh are caught the
lower surface Of each Is scaled, care being
taken not to include scales from the dorsal
part Of the nsh, since those are dark and
only the white ones possess value. II the
scales are collected at q great distance
from the factory-as in the United States
TO be transported to France, for instance
they should be freed from all organic mat
ter that nay cause decay and then left
suspended in a sleeve Of horsehair or mos
quito netting until the surplus slime OoEeE
OF. They are next packed with a small
quantity Of salt in a zinc can. with ten or
twelve pounds capacity. Tin cane are not
desirable, owing to their tendency TO oxl-
die. Care must be taken In soldering not
to overhead the contents OF the can. Lyons,
in France, Is the principal buyer Of these
scales. and according to a recent letter
from the United States consul at that port
25. 200 pounds are purchased annually, at a
cost ranging from the equivalent Of 81
cents to tl.25 per pound, according to quail