KN()\vLi:i)(;i:. 



NOVKMHICK. 1912. 



tlian hcinisplicrical pcarl-likc l5od\-, or " ("iiltiin- 

 Poarl." 



In 1905 tlic luimber of oysters operated on per 

 year was from two hundred and fifty thousand to 

 three luindrcd tliousand : hut I fancy it is very much 

 larger now. Tliese hUsters arc used in cheap 

 jewellery for purposes to which half pearls are 

 applicahle. I have not figures as to the present pro- 

 duction, hut it must be very large, as thc\- are 

 becoming extremely common in rings, scarf-jjins, 

 studs, and so on in Europe. They are not pearls, 

 but blisters, and as such their value is small com- 

 pared with that of real pearls of comparable size. 

 Indeed, their low value leads me to think that it would 

 scarcely be worth attempting to produce them in 

 the majority of British pearl-shell producing colonies, 

 where the labour and other conditions are difficult 

 compared with Japan. There is every reason to 

 think that Saville-Kent's enterprise with Mar^ariti- 

 feni maxima in Torres Straits, though the [jroduction 

 of " pearls" was spoken of, was in reality- concerned 

 with producing these '• blisters." It has been shown 

 over and over again that Margaritifera maxima and 

 other species can be successfully treated after the 

 Japanese method, and it may be added that in the 

 case of M. maxima and .17. margaritifera the growth 

 of the shell is so rapid that the blisters can be pro- 

 duced in a fraction of the time that is required in 

 the case of the Japanese oyster. I am informed that 

 blisters produced in this way in M. maxima are 

 being marketed now, in Paris and the Uni:ed States. 

 Although it has been stated that fancy prices have 

 been given for a few of these, I believe their value 

 will fall to a level comparable to the price of the 

 Japanese article, as soon as their nature is under- 

 stood by the public; and their production will, in 

 consequence, be found to be unprofitable in the 

 majority of cases. 



It is, however, worth while considering whether it 

 would not be practicable (provided conservation was 

 possible) to establish a " Culture-Pearl " industry in 

 some of the rivers frequented by the freshwater 

 pearl mussel in these islands : if, as is possible, 

 there are still areas where all desire for rural home 

 industries has not yet disappeared. The practica- 

 bility of producing fine blisters in our freshwater 

 [jearl mussel was proved by Linnaeus, whose speci- 

 mens can still be seen at the Linnean Society, 

 including some that are in no way inferior to the 

 Japanese ones. I do not wish to convey the 

 impression that we have here the potentiality of a 

 highly lucrative industry, in which fortunes can be 

 made, but I think the widely-spreading habit of 

 wearing imitation jeweller)- affords an ampleguarantee 

 of a steady market for a product which occupies a 

 position intermediate between the real pearl and the 

 glass and paste imitation, and which, consequently, 

 will meet the needs of those who cannot at'fonl to 

 buy the former, and whose self-respect forliids tin ni 

 to wear the latter. 



Most of the people who have produced blisters in 



this way have hoped to obtain real spherical "pearls" 

 by the same method, or a modification of it. Quite 

 recently Mr. Toyozo Kobavashi, Professor at the 

 Tokyo Higher Technical College, who is associated 

 with .\Ir. Mikimoto in his enterprise, has informed 

 me that Mr. .Mikimoto has produced a few perfectly 

 free spherical pearls in this way, but that the process 

 is too uncertain to be applicable, as yet, on a com- 

 mercial scale. 



I have always held that a modification of the 

 Japanese process could be devised that would yield 

 this result. But I maintain, in view of what is 

 known of the nature of real pearls, that such bodies 

 would not be "pearls" in the strict sense, and I am 

 of opinion that they could be distinguished from the 

 real article. In fact, I doubt very much whether 

 they could legally be marketed as "pearls." 



Me.xico. 



b"or many years past work has been carried on 

 w ith a view to the cultivation of the pearl ovster of 

 the Pacific Coast of .\merica, Margaritifera margari- 

 tifera \ar. mazatlaiiica, in the Gulf of California : 

 but unfortunately no satisfactor\- scientific account of 

 these operations is in existence. The chief company 

 concerned with this enterprise is the " Compania 

 Criadora dc Concha y Perla de la Baja California" 

 and the work was initiated by Mr. Gaston \'ives, 

 who has been studying the subject for many years. 

 The chief work of the compan\- is transplantation, 

 in which considerable success is claimed, and it 

 appears that elaborate devices are used to protect 

 the young oysters during the early attached stages, 

 on lines not unlike those adopted for the same 

 purpose with the edible oyster in Holland. Efforts 

 have also, apparently, been made to propagate the 

 oysters ; but I am not aware that this has proved 

 feasible on a commercial scale. 



So far as I know, apart from transplantation, the 

 work has not yet reached the stage which would 

 warrant its being called a commercial success. In 

 1909 no less than thirty thousand pounds had been 

 spent on the enterprise. 



Brim A. 



In 1907, when there was a boom in scientific 

 work, owing to the successful promotion and large 

 initial dividend of the Ceylon Company of Pearl 

 Fishers, Professor Herdman was approached bv the 

 Burma Government with a view to a biological 

 enquiry there. Professor Herdman assigned the 

 work to two young biologists, who proceeded to 

 Burma and published a report, which, considering 

 the limited time at their disposal, is an excellent 

 survey of the situation. 



No verj- definite proposals were made foraiiplying 

 biological science with a view to increasing pro- 

 duction ; but the question of the repopulation of the 

 banks was discussed on pages 18-19, and it was 

 suggested that breeding stock should be laid down 



