66 SECRETS OF ANIMAL LIFE 



dipped their precious fabrics in the vats of Tyre 

 and Sidon; the news of the glorious color spread; 

 and masses of broken shells still betray to the 

 archaeologist the diffusion of the purple industry 

 round the shores of the Mediterranean and the 

 Red Sea and far beyond both. There was ancient 

 purple-dyeing in Great Britain and Ireland, in 

 Central America and Mexico, in Malay, China, and 

 Japan. The process of extracting the dye was so 

 peculiar and distinctive that probabilities are 

 strongly in favor of the view, which Mr. Wilfrid 

 Jackson supports, that the secret was carried from 

 the Old World to the New by early Mediterranean 

 seafarers. The snail's secretion went through 

 curious changes colorless, yellow, green, bluish 

 before it flushed into the fine purple-red; and 

 that added to beauty a suggestion of mystery. 

 The final color hinted at blood, and this again at 

 vitality. Multitudes of snails were required in order 

 to yield a little dye, and this meant many adven- 

 turous cruises, and these often meant many lives. 

 So costliness embellished beauty, and the glamour of 

 purple grew. Only a few men dare don purple robes, 

 only a few women dare use the purple cosmetic, only 

 the admiral's ship or Cleopatra's could have purple 

 sails, only sacred script could enjoy the purple glory. 

 Another aesthetic appeal came from pearls and 

 mother-of-pearl, the beauty of which has never 

 ceased to charm. To the aesthetic glamour of 

 pearls was added the romantic touch of their 

 mysterious origin, and it is interesting to find 



