Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-05-08
MAKING Of PEARLS
Bivake Breeding Is Latest Ven
ture Of Uncle Sam.
Government Fisheries Dursau 10 Now
Producing Gems By Artificial
Aaeams - Muskrat's Body 10
hcs& a. MINUS Worm.

Washington. Uncle Sam Il goinl
antD pearl farming on large scale
~ Q result pearls may become &c
cheap that everyone win wear them
Ala. frssh vesar streams Of the coun
ny ntyx q little value win be seats
Of . profitable industry.
In the Cun4karland valley. where
eighty-nve OF the 500 species Of fresh
water mussels of the United States
are found. the Government Fisheries
bureau II now breeding pearl bivalvea
By artificial means.
In adding to the supply OF pearls
the government Is imposing on the
uuskrats OF the country for the musk.
rats body Ia the host Of the minute
worm which later In the fesh OF the
mussel becomes . pearls nucleus.
The eggs OF q nussel are Matched
IN pouches In the outer gills OF little
sashes. from which they are finally
discharged to the bottom OF the
stream to become swimming larvae.
Each larvae possesses . pair OF hooks
Ike tongs with which It grasps pass
lng Hsh. Those that fail to catch hold
lie
The bureau takes broad packets OF
eggs from ripe ,mussels and places
them into tubs with little sunfish and
perch. The fishes become so heavily
loaded with larvae that they some
times scarcely can swim.
The fishes are then placed In
streams. At the end Of seventy days
the tiny parasites drop OF and then
crow to adult form. Only by this
cuckoo method can new generation
Il mussels come into being.
OF the many species OF pearl mus
sels, most are worthless, because their
ahells are too thin to furnish good
nother-of-pearl buttons.
Among the most valuable CONNER
eially are the pigtoe. butterfly and mig
gerhead. a. the Kentucky and Tonnes
ose fishers call them.
Pearls ct present are accidents In
nussels. The pearl.making worm
bores into the flesh Of the mollusk
and sets up an irritation, which causes
me biyalve to protect itself by cover
hg the unwelcome visitor with layer
after layer OF the same material a.
III lining. A muskrat comes along,
dives and eats the hesh Of the mus
sells.
asA~ -..r>% <han sun1lNva fha
eorm. The worm lays eggs inside the
muskrat. and these eventually md
their way into the water. where they
are Matched and let forth . host Of lit
u worms Of new generation to 1T
tack any mussels they come across,
and in their flesh become centers Of
1ew pearls. III.
Only ! few mussel beds are infected
With the parasites. To obtain Z yield
q fne pearls one must md bed Of
eood coIored mussels and infect It.
The pearl II the same color - the
nother-of-pearl Of the infected mus
eel. .es
Muskrats viii be carefully protected
o1O08 peASI bueAMo' 0SN SVeSsH $40
valuable, but this Will be minor
matter compared with the worth Of
the pearls. ..,~
Even under present haphazard meth
eds many persons live by the pearl
industry. Recently at Goodall island
$4,000 worth OF pearls were obtained
In . week from q single bed.
"A sky blue pearl from Caney Fork.
Tenn. sold for $4,000. and a merchant
1t Carthage who buys $4,000 annu-
ally In pearls has paid ~ high as 81
800 for q single specimen.
he Indians Of the Scioto and Miami
Valleys had big collections Of pearls.
Pearls are found in mounds with skel-
otons Of dead chieftains. '',