Destributton of Pearls and Peart-shell. gI 
originate in whales are agreeably round, but not highly 
lustrous,” ” “Pearls which originate in the crest of Serpents, 
are beautifully round .... the serpents who bear them 
are the descendants of Vasuki, sovereign of the snakes, 
are not born everywhere, and are rarely seen by men in 
$ 
some sacred ground.””*™ “ Pearls which originate in the 
Bamboo are clear as the moon, and are like the Kakkol 
fruit in shape.” 
The same Indian authority says further, “In. certain 
places pearls are found on the head of frogs; learned 
men class them with serpent-pearls.” This prominent 
Indian belief which makes the head of the frog or 
toad Nature’s laboratory for the manufacture of pearls, 
was at one time widely prevalent in the British Isles. 
This idea is immortalized in the familiar lines of 
Shakespeare— 
“ Sweet are the uses of adversity, 
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, 
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.” 
On the Indian idea of the supposed medicinal proper- 
ties of pearls the Rajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore has 
much to say in the work already quoted. The burnt 
powder of these gems, if taken with water, cures hemor- 
rhages, prevents evil spirits working mischief in men’s 
minds, cures lunacy and all mental diseases, jaundice, etc., 
etc. Used as a dentifrice it strengthens the gums and 
cleans the teeth. Rubbed over the body with other medi- 
cines it cures leprosy and all skin diseases. And so on, 
In addition to the pearls themselves, the burnt pearl- 
shells are also looked upon as efficacious in the cure of 
many ailments; but chank-shell powder appears to sur- 
Pliny, ‘*N. H.,” bk. ix.. ch. 24, mentions fish which have a ‘‘ stone” 
in the head. He refers doubtless to the ear-bones or otoliths. 
°§ Ts this a confusion of the pearly-like granules and shields found in 
slugs, the ‘snail-stones’ credited with the property of strengthening eyes, etc. ? 
