Mother-of-Pearl Shell. $3 



fostered by the far-seeing policy initiated by Sir 

 Stamford Raffles, have transferred the whole of 

 this trade from the Spanish port to the Straits' 

 Settlements. 



The innumerable islands of the North and 

 South Pacific oceans, all contribute more or less 

 to swell the supplies — notably the Tuamotus of the 

 French colony Tahiti ; but the shell usually finds 

 its way either to Sydney or to Auckland, and from 

 its final port of shipment it receives its commercial 

 nomenclature. 



Three varieties are usually recognised in 

 Commerce : — 



1. White 



2. Golden-Edged 



3. Black-Edged 



The natives of the Sooloo Archipelago however, 

 who raise the bulk of "Manila" shell, profess to 

 distinguish four varieties of the golden-edged : 

 namely, white or black backs, and either smooth 

 or wrinkled. The meaning of these terms is not 

 sufficiently clear, but it is not unlikely that they 

 refer to the lines of horny substance sometimes 

 seen radiating from the centre of the hinge of the 

 shell to the circumference, produced by the succes- 

 sive la) ers of the lip in its growth from youth 



