The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1912-09-14
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happens that pearls are found attached to the in
ner surface of the she'll This position inter
feres with the symmetry OF the pearl so that
when It is taken out of the shell it is fiat
side making what is known as a "perle bouton"
The attached pearls not always of inferior
quality but often highly valued. The world
renowned Southern Cross which was valued at
10000 by the company to which 1t belonged,
found at Cossack. Western Australia. attached to
the central part OF the inside of a she'll
When once the nature OF pearls was understood.
1t was but natural that many experiments were
made to produce the precious objects at will. In
fact. much attention has been paid to this very
problem by scientific men. and they are still at
work upon It,
1t is well known that Linnaeus. the father OF
natural history, claimed that pearls could be pro-
cured by piercing holes in the shell of an oyster
with a. fine anger. making small wound and
afterwards parking" the oysters for many years
But his suggestions do not seem to have been
clearly understood and no one has been able to
pursue his method successfully. The Chinese, as
Is well known have been specially successful in
raising pearls by inserting grains of clay between
the shell and the thin outer membrane which
covers the soft body of the freshwater mussel
jut the best of these of very inferior quality
and are valuable merely as curios
At the international Fisheries exhibition, held
In Berlin in 1880 some pearls were shown which
had been cultivated In Germany From looking
be covered with nacreous substance but the re-
SUIT was of little value. Mr.. Saville Kent. late
naturalist to the government of Queensland and
to that OF Western Australia undertook the same
experiment with the large pearl-oyster and a
gentleman on Thursday island tried inserting a
shot through hole in the she'll
The most important of such experiments are
probably those Of DR.. Louis Boutan of Paris. who
succeeded some seven years ago in producing
pearls IN the abalone shell. The public was nat
orally greatly interested, and the newspapers in
europe and America applauded his success and
called it great discovery
Il may perhaps come as surprise to many that
before Dr. Boutan's attempts, very extensive
ana successful, system OF pearl-oyster cultivation
naa Deen carried on In Japan by Mr.. Mikimoto
ana culture pearls had not only been produced
OUT placed regularly on the market. Even at the
present DAY, 1t may be claimed. that this is the
oniy pearioyster farm in the world which under
taxes the extensive cultivation of the precious
moiiusc and produces culture pearls" on a COM
merciai scale An account of the successful enter
Prise may. therefore. be not wholly devoid of In.
terest "
AT the Third National Industrial exhibition.
heio IN Tokyo IN $780, Mr.. Mikimoto exhibited in
tne aquarium OF fisheries section some living
specimens of the pearloyster This made bin, ac.
qualhted with DR.. Mitsukuri. professor OF zoology
az she imperial university. who first suggested to
pim the possibility OF cultivating pearLoysters
ana oil making them produce pearls by the use OF
proper stimuli Being deeply Interested tn the
subject. Mikmoto went afterwards TO the marine
nloiegicai staten of the Imperial university at
Visah. where tie professor was teaching and