100 Pearls. 



an absolute proof that the shells grow from within 

 and not from the outside, as has sometimes been 

 maintained. 



, It is difficult to state anything definite as to 

 the rate of growth of the Mother-of-Pearl shell, but 

 a case that occured in 1883 may be worth men- 

 tioning as it excited considerable interest in the 

 West Australian fleet. 



In February 1883, the "Louisa," a cutter of 

 28 tons, was beached on the Lacepede islands and 

 her copper was thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned. 

 After remaining pearling during March, she was taken 

 into a creek in Roebuck Bay to clean and paint 

 up for returning to Cossack, the season being over. 

 When the ebb tide left her high and dry, it was 

 found that her bottom was covered in many places 

 with small Mother-of-Pearl oysters, from i| to 3 

 inches wide ; one solitary shell however measuring 

 5j inches across. The only feasible explanation 

 of this seems to be that these small shells were 

 originally in the dirt and scrapings of the shells 

 which were thrown overboard the evening after 

 the copper was cleaned in February : this was 

 before the vessel was floated. The tide must 

 then have washed them a2:ainst the bottom, to 

 which they adhered. Considering, therefore, that 

 they were found only six weeks after the cutter's 



