186 PEARLS AND PEARLING 



All kinds of pearls should be brilliant and lustrous to 

 command the highest prices. 



Pearls are always sold by the grain. This standard of 

 weight is a very old one and originated in India. Small 

 uniformly round seeds or grains were used in weighing 

 pearls. Later, standards for this weight were established, 

 so the grain is used exclusively. 



Fig 45 illustrates an assortment which includes the 

 Rose-Bud, Large Spikes, Seed Pearls, Button Pearl, 

 Banded Pearl, Turtle-Back, Egg Pearl and Barrel Pearl. 



The Rose-Buds, Biscuits, Turtle-Backs and other Ba- 

 roques, when large and lustrous are in demand and sell 

 as high as $4.00 per grain, and sometimes even higher, 

 although the poor grades have a much lower value. 



All Slugs are sold by the avoirdupois ounce. The very 

 large selected pieces that are clear and lustrous and nice- 

 ly colored sometimes sell as high as $15.00 per ounce. 



Fig. 46 shows a quantity of average run slugs which 

 sell for $3.00 per ounce on the Illinois River. Such slugs 

 are worth $2.50 per ounce on the Mississippi River, and 

 $2.00 per ounce on the Maumee River. The quality of 

 the slugs varies in the different fisheries. The color, lus- 

 ter and quality of the average run of some slugs in some 

 localities are so good they occasionally sell for $5.00 per 

 ounce. The chicken feed is not so valuable, but some- 

 times sells for $3.00 per ounce. 



The prices that have been mentioned are for fresh- 

 water Pearls, Baroques and Slugs. 



The value of the pearls found in the various rivers, 

 exceeds the value of the shells. Most of the pearls are 



