Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1904-09-21
MIRACLE PEARLS.
Images of the God Buidha are Grown
to order by Mussels.
AUNT MADar.

70 OFueI bN 'AHS~tts-
Yen may live IN China all your lfe
and had something new on the last
day said one of the veteran mission
aries to me at Hangchow. And GA
our last trip ont Into the country ou
our village rounds We came upon
these" producing pair of shells oa
whose inner nacreeus surface las lQl-
be,ided rows Of blister pearls" and be
famous miracle pearls tiny pearly
images of the Buddha Ia low relief.
These miracle spearls have been
known as products OF Chinese skill AMI
ingenuity for centuries Every mu-
scum possesses ore or more shells with
the pearly Image embedded. and fin the
Old days Of the East India trade the
New England sea captains used 10
bring them home from their cruises.
They got them. OF course. at Canton.
but Canton no longer knows them or
shows them for sale. and persistent
questioning can get no clew MS to tire
place where the miracles are made IA
order. They used TO lie sold az the
Buddhist temples in Canton. and had
been told that they were also brought
by the pilgrims as souvenirs OF their
visit TO the sacred isle Of pootoo In
the chusan archipelago. but no one
knew where the pearl yards" were.
where the seat Of Chinese pearl cul
ture might be.
Il saw these ON the ledge OF the wall
in one house. and when l asked about
them they told me 10 come and see
and without any effort. prolonged In
terest question or search the good mis-
sionary stumbled upon the whole bust
ness of the miracle pearls
Pearl rearing. it seems. was the chief
industry Of that remote village in Che
kiang province aud had been It's unique
speciality for ages. Each generation
had passed ON the secrets of the ART
and knew not when II began, who first
taught or evolved the processes by
which the fresh water mussel Is in
dueed TO retain mud pellets and small
metal objects which are slipped into
the shells aud TO diligently cover them
with nacreous substance.
The foreign visitor who had Glanced
upon the miracle making village was
taken to place where eight or ten men
sat around tables prying the mussel
shells open 10 admit of little pellets OF
baked clay and bits OF fiat metal. i'm
pressed evidently from n die, in the
shape of seated Buddha.
The mud balls are slipped In, and the
mussel does the rest. but the little
scraps of Buddhas must be placed right
side up with care as Chinese aesthetic
culture has never reached the appreci-
alton or evolution OF an intagho
The mnssels are put in ponds and left
there two or more years and are then
ready for opening and cutting the
"blisters' and Buddhas free from the
shell surface. Whether the musseis
We're fed by the pearl cuitivators the
visitor did not learn. nor just the ar
rangement of rotation or alteration Of
ponds OF each seasons harvesting.
While the villagers carried ON the
other usual industries of rice and silk
culture, the pearling remained the chief
source OF wealth, some families realiz-
ing as much as 800 silver dollars each
year from their pearl crop. The Bills
ter pearls go to jewelers. and are
worked up into elaborate Chinese hair
ornaments, and the miraculous images
of the Buddha. tiny. carefully modelled.
exquisite little half inch hong jewels.
are sold as sacred treasures and tails
mans to pilgrims at the Buddhist
shrines around Hangchow and at Poo
too for the little while each season that
the limited supply lasts.-Chicago Trib-
une.