PEARLS.—MOTHER OF PEARL. 63 
lusks in safe and convenient coves where he 
may gather the pearls for several years in suc- 
cession from the same shells. 
“The Chinese, understanding the ability of 
these pearl mussels to cover hard substances 
with their fluid secretion, which soon hardens 
into mother-of-pearl, or nacre, bring their wiles 
to bear upon a species of fresh-water mussel— 
the Unio Hyria—compelling it to manufacture 
pearls to their order. 
“They keep the little Unto in tanks, and 
place small shot, bits of shell, and other sub- 
stances between the mantle and the valve; 
these particles are soon converted into pearls 
by the industrious little gem maker. 
“They carry their ‘ways that are dark’ 
still further, and by means of the work of 
the innocent little Unio they impose upon 
the credulous and superstitious minds of their 
people. They insert a metal image of their 
god Buddha within the valves of the mussel, 
and in process of time it becomes coated with 
the nacreous secretion and—presto !—the im- 
age of Buddha in pearl and adhering to the 
shell of a mussel! The image commands a 
good price and promises great advantage to the 
ignorant dupe who sees in it an unanswerable 
affirmation of Buddha’s divinity. 
