HOLMES] VARIETIES OF BEADS. 225 



mound at East St. Louis, Ills. It is a symmetrical, well-polished cyl- 

 inder. The small portion of the sjiiral groove which remains indicates 

 that it is derived from a Busycon perversum. The perforation is neatly 

 made and doublj' conical in shape. The symmetry, finish, and fine con- 

 dition of this bead lead to the suspicion that it may be of recent manu- 

 facture. Its form is by no means a common one among ancient mound 

 relics. 



The bead represented in Fig. 10 is described and illustrated by Squier 

 and Davis.' This, with many similar specimens, was taken from a 

 mound in the Ohio Valley. It is made from the columella of some ma- 

 rine univalve, and is well wrought and symmetrical. 



Fig. 5 is a flattish, highly polished bead from Monroe County, New 

 York. The material, which resembles ivory, may have been obtained 

 from tjie tusk of some animal. It is slightly concave on one side and 

 convex on the other. The perforation is neatly made and of uniform 

 diameter throughout. 



In Fig. 4 I present a bead of unusual shape ; it is made from the 

 basal portion of some heavy univalve. The axis and perforation are at 

 right angles to the plane of lamination. The middle portion of the bead 

 has been excavated, producing a form resembling a labret or lip-block, 

 in common use by many tribes. It is from a mound on French Broad 

 Eiver, Tenn. We have a bead of similar shape, but which has a lateral 

 perforation, from a mound at Nashville, Tenn. 



Fig. 2 illustrates a spheroidal bead obtained from an ancient grave on 

 Santa Eosa Island, Cal. The form is unusually symmetrical and the per- 

 foration neatly made, being small, doubly conical, and slightly counter- 

 sunk at one end. The surface is smooth and retains a little of the orig- 

 inal purplish hue of the shell, probably a Hennites giganteus. Others 

 of the same shape fi'om this locality exhibit like characteristics. A few 

 similar specimens come from San Miguel Island. 



Another large specimen from this locality is shown in Fig. S. It 

 is somewhat flat, and is quite wide in the middle portion, tapering 

 rapidly towards the ends. The ijerforation is small and regular. The 

 lines of foliation are distinctly marked, but are not suflBciently charac- 

 teristic to indicate the part of the shell from which the bead is derived. 

 Pearls. — Two of the most remarkable beads in the national collection 

 are illustrated in Figs. 3 and 13. The latter is an enormous pearl, 

 probably dei'ived from the Haliotis Californianus. It is somewhat pear- 

 shaped, the base being rounded and the apex a little bent. The trans- 

 verse section is subtriangular. Having been buried for an unknown 

 period in the soil or sand, it has suffered greatly from decay, and has 

 probably lost considerably by exfoliation. The thin, chalky lamellae 

 come away readily in concentric scales, exposing the iridescent nacre 

 beneath. The perforation is about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, 

 and seems to pass through a natural cavity in the interior of the pearl. 

 The smaller specimen given in Fig. 3 is in many respects, similar to the 



'Squier and Davis: Aacient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, p. ^32. 

 15 E 



