Their orzgifi and formation. 119 



South Kensington, and in the Museum of Practical 

 Geology in Jermyn-street, there are specimens 

 which clearly illustrate the processes of re-lining the 

 shell, and of burying foreign substances. They are 

 flat shells (the lower valves), with a number of 

 figures of Buddha lying embedded at equal distances 

 apart, on the upper portion of the shell near the lips, 

 but not so deeply buried as to be hidden. These 

 are not uncommonly produced artificially in China, 

 in order to make a profit out of the unquestioning 

 religious faith of the people who, upon seeing the 

 apparently supernatural work of a senseless mollusc, 

 would lift their hands in awe, and utter an ex- 

 clamation which would be an equivalent of the 

 Moslem '* Allah is great!" The little figures are 

 slipped carefully below the mantle of the oyster, and 

 the process of deposition described before covers 

 them with nacre. The whole subject of the artificial 

 production of such pearly bodies will be discussed in 

 a subsequent chapter. 



If this system of burying Pearls be understood, 

 the art of " peeling Pearls " in order to get rid of 

 the incomplete layers of shell, or to deprive the 

 Pearl of one of its own delicate layers, in the hope 

 of finding the subjacent layer more perfect, may 

 readily be understood. Both Chinamen and Sooloo 

 men resort to it frequently, and become great 



