nacre. The reader should not get an idea 

 from this, however, that all pearls are 

 valuable and that all baroques have little 

 value. A pearl, round and symmetrical and 

 as large as a pea but of a dead milky lustre 

 may not be worth a dollar, while a fine, 

 brilliant and irridescent baroque may be 

 worth a thousand. 



Ringed pearls often have a dull band 

 encircling them but have bright ends. 

 Biscuit pearls are not as attractive in shape 

 as some others though they are sometimes 

 very fine. Between round pearls, half 

 spheres, drop and oval shapes it is difficult 

 to say which are the most attractive. The 

 half spheres and drop pearls are more 

 often perfect but few can resist the appeal 

 of a handsome oval or a perfectly spherical 

 pearl. 



Among the baroques, the nuggets and the 

 rose or strawberry pearls are often very 

 beautiful, the turtle backs coming next and 

 the hinge pearls and slugs last. The nuggets 

 and rose baroques are found in the mantle, 

 and all that has prevented them from 

 becoming pearls is the fact that they have 

 remained stationary instead of revolving 

 as all true pearls do. The turtle backs 

 grow in the hollow near the back of the shell. 

 They are sometimes of good color but are 

 not often smooth. The hinge or wing 



Gaper 



Vnio arcuata — New England 



