Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-01

Like the rose whose fragrance was wasted
upon the desert air. so do Pearl and Hermes
marine gardens offer their beauty only to the
winds of the sea, the sun and the stars. CoralS
OF exquisite architecture, giant red starf1Sh,
beche de mer and immense lacquer-red sea
urchins adorn the basins Of the lagoon; here
also grows a short-matted sea grass in which
fish Of such brilliant colorings as to seem almost
clown-like have their pastures and abode. Rare
and beautiful shells are also here; the ex-
quisite Tereba maculata or doro-doro shell, the
cymation with its brilliant shell and rare
snail that bears the lovely name of Cypraea
Sulcidentata. collection of shells may soon
be seen in the Smithsonian Institution, as the
expedition gathered many that lacking IN
the exhibits there.
Talk to a scientist about the structure of
pearls and one Is in water as deep as that from
which they come; the inner coating of the
pearl-bearing molusk is nacre or mother Of
pearl; 1t consists ordinarily Of 'tan accumula-
ton Of extremely thin semi transparent films
or laminae of a granular organic substance
called conchiolin while the interstices are filed
with calcareous matter. The nacre decreases
in thickness from the hinge toward the lip Of
the shell and terminates short distance from
the extreme edge"
AS nature never works in vain, so she does
not provide rough, heavy coatings for the
mollusks growing in smooth waters, but where
the conditions are harsh and severe there she
builds up q strong resistance and the shells
are thick and uneven. Some one has said that
pearls have no pedigree" yet they are very
luxurious creatures, and to protect their deli
cate bodies build up the interior Of the shell
with lustrous and beautiful material; hence all
objects that come within contact of this soft
body are similarly treated and while at first
the nacreous covering is extremely thin, layer
after layer Is added until pearls of greater and
greater beauty are produced. The most perfect
and hence valuable pearls are those not at
tached to the shell, but that have been reared
in the tissue Of the oyster.
Since the time Of Cleopatra pearls Of price
less value have figured In romantic as well as
commercial history. Pliny records probably the
two most famous those that Cleopatra wore in
her ears, and it is well remembered story Of
how she dissolved one in wine and drank it
to win . wager with Antony. In the sixth
century the PeroZ pearl was even then valued
as high as SIS, 900. Charles the Bold In the
fifteenth century owned another valuable and
famous pearl, while ranking with it were the
Tararequi and Oviedo pearls and the celebrated
la Peregrina" (the incomparable) belonging
to Philip II and which came from Panama.
The pearls of Mary Stuart, of Queen Elizabeth
together with those Of the great moguls and
Shahs have their counterpart in such famous
American collections the Morgan-Tidany
and the Gould pearls; another famous coIIec-
ton, the Van Buren, pearls, o gift from the
Imam Of MuScat, is in the National Museum.
without seeming to spin too longish yarn
some mention must be made Of stin other
famous pearls the seven seas have given up.
They are the great Hope pearl, the Moscow
pearl the Theirs necklace, the Bapst pearls and
the crown jewels of France. Yet another, the
Tiffany Queen, although a fresh-water pearl,
has q history so interesting that it is well
worth repeating.
CPURRED on by the find of pearl In
~ mess" of mussels In Paterson N j., in
1857, a carpenter named Quackenbush, search
ing every clam bed in his locality found
magnificent pink pearl which weighed SO grains.
1t was bought by MFR. Tiffany for 1900, who
later described his feelings when he made the
purchase. He said Here this man finds pearl
within II miles of place of business! What
If thousands should be found and many per-
haps finer than this onei However we riSked
buying the pearl and no one in New York
seemed interested in it, we sent it to our Paris
house for sale and French gem dealer offered
for it a very large advance on the original pur-
chase price" Later this pearl came into
the possession of the beautiful Empress Eu-
genie, and at present its market value is Will
over $4,000. rs-'te -,s ott
r,