402 REVIVAL OF PEARL-SEEKING. [CHAP. ix. 



ground supplies. In some cases the pearl produced barely 

 repays the cost of fishing. It would therefore appear to be 

 desirable that the component parts of the surface of the most 

 productive banks should be subjected to chemical analysis. 

 And as the natural history of the mussel and the scollop does 

 not appear to be so well ascertained as that of the edible 

 oyster, it might be attended by some useful result if a prize 

 were offered for the best treatise on these European bivalves 

 as being the nearest approach to the pearly mollusc of Ceylon. 

 With the information thus obtained, it might not be necessary 

 to incur the expense of sending a naturalist to Ceylon." 



During the past two or three summers the early industry 

 of pearl-seeking has been very successfully revived in Scotland, 

 chiefly through the exertions of Mr. Moritz linger, a dealer in 

 gems residing in Edinburgh. That gentleman having, in the 

 way of his trade, occasionally fallen in with pearls said to be 

 obtained in Scottish rivers, was so struck with their great 

 beauty that he determined to set about their collection in a 

 more systematic way. At that time there was in Scotland 

 only one professed fisher for pearls, who lived at Killin, and 

 whose stock was principally bought up by the late Marquis of 

 Breadalbane. Mr. linger, having in view the extension of the 

 trade, travelled over the whole country, and announced his 

 intention of buying, at a fixed scale of prices, all the pearls lie 

 could obtain taking possession, in the meantime, of such gems 

 as he could get from the peasantry, and paying them a liberal 

 price. The consequence is, that now, instead of there being 

 but one professed pearl-seeker in Scotland, there are hundreds 

 who cling to pearl-fishing as their sole occupation, and, being 

 sober and industrious men, they make a good living by it. 



The Scotch pearls were, in the middle ages, celebrated all 

 over Europe for their size and beauty. Just one hundred 

 years ago between the years 1761 and 1764 pearls to the 

 value of 10,000 were sent to London from the rivers Tay and 



