THE ECONOMIC USES OF SHELLS. 467 



in the district till lately . . . The shells, shimplas, are flat and round. The 

 pearls, which are of a pale, whitish colour, vary in size from a poppy seed 

 to a grain of millet. They are sometimes found the size of a pea. Except some 

 that are sold in the district and are used by the natives in medicine, they are 

 bought by pearl merchants and sent to China. Pearls are sold by the tola, 

 which cost about 14s. (Rs. 7) to collect, and sells at from Ks. 8 to 11. For the 

 last two years the right of fishing has been sold by Government; it 

 realised Rs. 102 in 1878 and Rs. 214 in 1879." 



In 1901-02 there was much excitement about the pearls found at Belapur 

 and it was said that quantities were being collected. 



Of other shells that produce pearls may be mentioned the fresh water 

 mussels of India (Unio marginalia and U. fladclens), which Dr. J. Anderson 

 describes as collected near Berhampur in Bengal, and similarly the seed pearls 

 obtained from the nearly allied fresh water mussel of the British Isles {Unio- 

 margaritiferus) have also a small commercial value. These small pearls, includ- 

 ing most of those from the " Window oyster," besides being used to some 

 extent for ornamental purposes, are supposed to possess invigorating powers and 

 are used chiefly as a medicine. Quoting Dr. Watt, they " have been used in 

 medicine from a very ancieniperiod. . . . They are purified for use by being 

 boiled with the juice of certain leaves and flowers." " They are then calcined in 

 covered crucibles and reduced to powder. The powder thus formed is believed 

 to be similar in properties to coral, and is generally used in combination with that 

 substance. It is esteemed in urinary diseases, consumption, &c, and is said to in- 

 crease the strength of weak patients. . . . The only virtue possessed by the 

 gem is doubtless that of an antacid, a property for which it was used at one time 

 in European medicine, and even held a position in the British PharmacopaW 



When we turn to the second great commercial purpose to which the pearl- 

 oyster is put, the field before us is an extensive one. ;is is exemplified by the 

 array of exhibits on the table representing some of the economic uses of 

 mother-o'-pearl. 



This term is generally employed to describe the nacreous lining of many 

 shells, but is more properly applied to the shells of several species of Margari- 

 tifera, which is of far greater commercial value on account of its lustre and 

 thickness, which allows of its being manufactured into such useful articles 

 as buttons, knife handles, spoons, plates, &c., besides the purely ornamental 

 articles of which there are a fairly representative selection before you. 



I believe, the very pick of the shells that come on the London market are 

 selected and fetch a special price for export to New York for the purpose of 

 supplying the mother-o'-pearl side-plates for the handles of revolvers, which 

 are greatly appreciated by Mexican and other ' cow-boys'- in fact no cow- boy 

 can attain any standing in his profession unless possessed of one of these 

 mother-o'-pearl handled ' guns,' 



The shells of M. margaritifera provide the greatest supply of mother-o'-pearl 

 to the European markets, being now obtained most largely from the fisheries of 



