PEARLS AND PEARL-DIVING 



will wrench open the valves with their knives. In the 

 hands of an experienced man this is a risky operation, 

 and when performed by a neophyte it is largely a case of 

 fools stepping in where dredgers fear to tread. How many 

 laymen can open a " common or garden * oyster for eating 

 without cutting a hole in their hands, and hacking the 

 fish into a nasty, dirty mess ? 



When the few days of putrefaction have done their 

 work, "washing" begins, an occupation which calls for 

 consummate care and patience and plugged nostrils. 

 Taking the shells a couple of hundred at a time, the 

 washers throw them into a tub of water, keeping careful 

 look-out as they do so for the loose pearls the most 

 valuable of any which have a tendency to roll away and 

 get lost. More often than not these lie near the mouth 

 of the shell ; but they may also be concealed within the 

 body, or near the hinge. The fish, of course, sink, while 

 the dust, mites, and other dross rise to the surface. The 

 dirty water is gently poured off and replaced by fresh, 

 and so on till nothing remains but shells, rotten oysters, 

 and possible pearls. 



Next, the shells are handed out and closely examined. 

 Strangely enough, those pearls found adhering to the 

 upper or rounded valve are generally pronounced worth- 

 less, though, naturally, there are exceptions ; those on the 

 flat valve are nipped off with delicate tools, and finally 

 the empty shells are set aside for the value of the nacre 

 lining. 



Then the malodorous mass that is left in the tub has to 

 be felt and examined inch by inch ; work that can only be 



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