Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Ix. (191 6), No. 1%. ij 



exist in old Hungarian jewelry. In Denmark no pearl 

 fisheries now exist ; but three centuries ago the gems 

 were obtained in the Kolding Fjord, in Jutland. In 

 Norway most of the rivers and streams, especially on the 

 west and south-west coast, have been noted for pearls 

 from the 17th century; while in Sweden, pearl fisheries 

 were noted, in 1562, by Olaus Magnus, Archbishop of 

 Upsala. In Russia the pearl mussel is found in many 

 streams ; it occurs throughout Archangel, in most of the 

 rivers flowing into the White Sea, Lake Onega, and the 

 Baltic Sea ; it likewise occurs in the Volga Watershed. 

 In the government of Archangel pearls have been col- 

 lected for centuries from the streams flowing into the 

 White Sea and Arctic Ocean. Middendorff gives us a 

 detailed account of the Lapland pearl fisheries and relates 

 that they have been carried on exclusively by the shore 

 Laplanders ; but owing to the small returns, they have 

 been neglected in recent times. The pearls obtained are 

 somewhat dull in colour, which in the opinion of the 

 fishermen is caused by the mysterious influence of the 

 copper money which they carry with them. The Tuloma 

 was formerly a productive river ; its pearls were sold in 

 Kola, and were sent from there to Archangel to be pierced. 

 The Tjura also yielded many pearls ; but since a Lap- 

 lander was drowned while fishing for them, the idea has 

 spread that the spirit of the river guards the pearls, and 

 the natives hesitate about seeking them. In the grand 

 duchy of Finland, in the province of Olonetz, and in the 

 Baltic Provinces, pearls have been sought after for three 

 centuries or more. The areas where pearl fishing is 

 conducted in other parts of Russia — the Volga Watershed, 

 the Don, the Dnieper, etc. — are indicated on the accom- 

 panying map. 44 



44 The above information is mostly extracted from Von Hessling "Die 

 Perlmuscheln und ihre Perlen," Leipzig, 1859; also Kunz and Stevenson, 

 op. cit. 



