OPENING SHELLS AND EXTRACTING PEARLS 147 



When the mussels are brought from the fisheries, the 

 pearl hunter uses the fork and forks them out of the 

 boat into a shell box. These shell boxes are usually six- 

 teen inches square inside, and hold one hundred pounds., 

 or more, of the mussels. They are strong but light and 

 are carried between two poles about five feet in length 

 which are securely fastened to the sides of the boxes. 



When the box is rilled two men carry it and empty the 

 mussels into the cooking vat which is illustrated in Fig. 

 37. The vat is built of broad heavy boards made into a 

 box about five feet long and about two feet wide and one 

 foot deep. The bottom is a large piece of galvanized 

 sheet iron, which is nailed to the boards and which is 

 longer than the box at both ends so that the projecting 

 ends of the sheet iron protects the ends of the vat from 

 the fire which burns in the furnace under it. The vat is 

 placed on the bank on an elevation which is not liable to 

 the overflow of the river and is mounted on two low. 

 level walls of bricks or stones, and afterward dirt is 

 thrown around to fill in any open places in the walls. 



The chimney is made at the upper end, the lower end 

 of the chimney being set on the edges of some stones and 

 other rocks and dirt filled in around it. 



Several joints of stove pipe make a good chimney, and 

 if an elbow is placed loosely on it is a good thing to use 

 in windy weather, as the elbow can be turned away from 

 die wind, thus increasing the draft of the furnace. 



When the vat is filled with shells, about two buckets of 

 water are thrown into the vat and the mussels are cov- 

 ered with a piece of old carpet or some other cover, then 



