Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-01-02
AMERICAN PEARLS.
Prices Advancing-5eds Are Dredged
to Rsrrenness.

FTtCeS AoVanCin9-DSoS are DISo9eO
to 5Errenness.
AS the regular season the musse
fishing in the western rivers drags TO
a close the reports indicate some adj
vances made in the prices paid for
shells. Suspicion is expressed by
some of the fishermen that the dulness
in the mother-of-pearl button traffic
was emphasized by the button manu-
facturers in order to depress the
prices of the shells to the lowest point
yet known. Glasses of shells that
once brought $40 a ton, went down
early in the year to $3.50 ton and
later fell to $3.50 but are now going
up again
Prices of American pearls, according
to New York dealers, have been adj
vancing slowly but positively all sea-
son. One large dealer, before he sailed
for Europe recently, estimated that
white American Dearls of fine lustre,
in round and pear shapes, are fully
80 per cent higher than they wee
last year. Early in the season baro-
ques were admitted to be weak fea-
ture of the market, but the dealers
say that steadily increasing demand
has forced up their prices also.
While most of the mussel fishing
has be"1 in the Wabash this season
there has been activity also in the
Chic River along the Illinois banks OF
the Mississippi The latest claimant tor
honors as a psarl producing stream IS
Kankakee, in Indiana, some of the
gems from which reached New YORK
severl weeks ago. The reports in
,dicate that the mussels are being
found in stretches of the river which
are being reclaimed by dredging.
At the same time that the Kanka-
kee comes to the notice of the pearl
hunters, the Sugar River, of Wiscon-
sin, once famous for producing the
finest of American pearls, is giving
up a.. claims in this line For twenty
years it's waters were sought by those
who sought wealth in the nacerOus
sheen. A few weeks ago a fine gem
was found by a patient pearl hunter
in the stream but it is conceded that
fishing here, as a business, has ceased.
New York dealers say that many
fine pearls are killed by the practice
Of tie button houses and those who
fish for them of throwing the musseIs
into hot water watts. If the pearl falls
to the bottom, when the valves open,
it gets too near the hot iron and loses
its life" The suggestion is made
that if a sort of double boiler were
used there would be less danger or
spelling valuable pearls.
New York dealers who have been
in the West in the last season say
that the use of dredging machines is,
without doubt depicting the mussel
beds AS fast as one part of the river
is drained of its supplies the clam.
mers' move to another part, but it is
predicted that unless legislation stops
the slaughter of the mussels an end
of the business will be made by tn,
determination of the fish.
From Paris come reports that
Roentgen rays are being used in Cey-
Ion to determine if an oyster has a
pearl. If there is none back goes the
oyster into the sea. If the pearl is
small the shell is placed where the
gem may be watched while it grows.
This plan, says the Paris report, will
save theypearl oysters from destruc-
ton. as only those containing valu-
able pearls viii be killed-Jeweler'