The Natchitoches enterprise., 1912-10-03
But doth suffer a sea change
Into something rich and strange.


We see that in Shakespeares time men had
peculiar notions about the wonders wrought by
the animals of the sea- Again, in Moore's poem,
peri and the Pearl" we find:
And precious the tear as that rain from the sky
Which into pearls 1t falls in the sea.
Aelian thought that pearls were produced by
lightning flashing into the open shells.
Turning from these fantastic, though interest
ing theories let us glance at the modern ex-
plantations Of the formation Of these beautiful
products of nature.
You have, no doubt. often seen shells of
molluscs lined with smooth anr iridescent coat
ing which is called or motherof-pearl.
This coating like the rest of the shell, is pro-
ICED by the animal, and is made up mostly OF
carbonate of lime and an organic matrix which
usually presents a Eliminated texture. You must
have noticed that the color and brilliancy OF this
layer differ in various species of shells. For
instance In the ordinary oyster 1t is OF lustre-
less white. and in kind of shell called abalone
or ear shell (Haliotis), the nacre is of green
ish blue tinge changing to purple as you turn 1t
In your hand In another kind, known as the
black-lipped-shell (Margartifera). the mother-of-
pearl is of greenish black color. In the shells
of the true pearl-oysters the nacre is OF clear,
delicate white, which has the sheen of floss silk
family tinted with azure, exhibiting beautiful
play of coor-a quality which makes these shells
of great value in commerce.
Now IL often happens that foreign substances,
such as sand grains, microscopic organisms OF
various kinds parasitic worms, crabs. or some
times even small fishes become introduced by ac-
cident or otherwise inside the shell or into the
tissues of the mollusc's soft body In such cases.
the animal sometimes begins to deposit part Of
tie material which goes to form the nacreous
LAYER of the shell around or over these foreign
objects and as new material is added year after
year in the form OF layers these concretions
which may at first be very tiny grow to be OF
4 considerable size. And when this takes place
IN she'll with specially beautiful nacre such as
that OF the pearLoyster. the result may be an OBJ
joct OF great beauty priced from ancient times as
4 priceless jewel. In this strange way pearls,
the handsomest products of nature are produced.
Such being their origin. pearls may be formed
IN any kind of molusc bibayed or spiral. And
t,,st as the nacre OF different kinds of shells diff
fers 40 the pearls themselves vary according to
The she'll which produces them. Thus the pearls
of the common oyster. the scallop and the giant
clam, are milky white and not very bright, while
those of the sea mussel are usually black
Perhaps you have noticed that pearls are OF
many different shapes, some round, some pear
shaped some egg-shaped and some OF all manner
OF fantastic shapes. The round, pear-shaped and
eeg-shaped ones are known as oriental or virgin
pearls. while those Of irregular shapes are called
barooue pearls. These are sometimes found In
the shapes Of fishes. birds wings. or creeping
worms The seed pearls. which are generally
use for medicinal purposes by the Chinese. are
always very small and usually found together
IN numbers.