598 APPENDIX 



of animals at a suitable spot. Although the colony of animals thus planted may thrive and 

 grow, it does not follow that pearls will be formed in the individual oysters, for to provoke 

 the attack of a boring parasite, or the entrance of a grain of sand, or other cause of irritation 

 is at present somewhat beyond the control of man. 



The Pearl-Mussel. — Compared with the marine pearl-oyster, the fresh- water pearl- 

 mnssel as a pearl producer is of very subordinate importance. The variety inhabiting 

 rivers resembles the common fresh-water mussel very closely, especially in the corrosion of 

 the shell near the hinge line, but is somewhat larger. It is estimated that one pearl will be 

 found in every hundred mussels, and that one per cent, of the pearls so found are of good 

 quality. River-pearls of even the best quality often possess a lead-coloured tinge, or are 

 lustreless and of a greyish- brown colour in consequence of the absence of the naci'eous layer ; 

 they are never equal to pearls of marine origin. As in the case of the marine pearl-oyster 

 it is useless to expect to find pearls in well-grown, regularly formed shells, and even in 

 distorted and abnormal shells they are often sought for in vain. 



The pearl-mussel inhabits rivers in all parts of the world, but in contrast to the peai'l- 

 oyster is more abundant in temperate than in warm countries ; its favourite habitat is in 

 streams and small rivers of clear, fresh water. 



It is absent from the southern countries of Europe and from the Alpine regions, but is 

 abundant in Germany in the many water-courses which drain the Bohemian and 

 Bavarian forests and the Fichtelgebirge, Erzgebirge, and Riesengebirge. Specially 

 remarkable for the number of their pearl-producing inhabitants are the Ilz and the Regen 

 in Lower Bavaria ; the Oelschnitz above Berneck, and the Perlenbach in the upper reaches 

 of the Main ; the Elster and its tributaries in Saxon Voigtland especially in the 

 neighbourhood of the town of Oelsnitz ; the Queiss and the Juppel in Silesia ; the Moldau 

 above Frauenberg and its tributary the Wattawa in Bohemia. For centuries the pearl- 

 mussels found in these rivers have been turned to the best .possible account by the 

 Government of the different countries, especially by that of Saxony. The yield has always 

 been small and is gradually diminishing both in quantity and quality. In the year 1893 

 the total yield was 55 pearls ; in 1894 only 13 ; and in 1895 there were 68 found, of which 

 21 were bright, 9S, half bright, and 25 dull and useless. 



The famous collection in the " Green Vaults ■" at Dresden shows, however, that at one 

 time beautiful pearls were obtained from the mussels inhabiting the rivers of Voigtland. 

 A necklace preserved in this collection has been valued at 3000 thalers ; it consists of 177 

 pearls obtained from the river Elster. For a necklace of pearls from Voigtland, said to 

 have been the property of a duchess of Sachsen-Zeitz, 40,000 thalers (£6000) was once 

 offered. 



Pearls have also been obtained from true pearl-mussels inhabiting certain streams in 

 the north of Germany ; for example, the Wipperau, Gerdau, and Barnbeck on the Liineburg 

 heath, between Celle and Uelzen. From Uriio crassus, another species of mussel, have been 

 derived the pearls occasionally found in the Tapps-Aa near Christiansfeld on the northern 

 border of Schleswig, in the neighbourhood of the Rhcinsberg, and in the lake near Lindow 

 in the province of Brandenburg. 



The pearls of Britain were mentioned by Tacitus and by Pliny, and a breast-plate 

 studded with British pearls was dedicated by Julius Caesar to Venus Genetrix. We find a 

 reference to Scotch pearls as early as 1355, in a statute of the goldsmiths of Paris, and in 

 the reign of Charles II. the Scotch pearl trade was sufficiently important to attract the 

 attention of parliament. After languishing for years, the pearl-fishing industry of Scotland 

 was revived in 1860 by a German named Moritz Unger, who visited the country and bought 



