BREEDING PEAELS 



BY 



N. B. DENNIS Ph. D. 



Read before the Society on the %%th February, 1878. 



Maxy residents in Singapore, and more especially Members 

 of this Society, have heard of "Breeding" Pearls/'' or Pearls which, 

 as alleg*ed, have under certain conditions the power of repro- 

 ducing- fresh specimens. My attention having* been drawn to 

 the subject shortly after my arrival in the Colony, I made 

 enquiries in all likely quarters, and propose to lay the results 

 before this meeting. When I commenced these enquiries I had 

 no particular theory to support either in favour of, or opposed to, 

 this apparently incomprehensible matter. And what I now 

 intend to do is to shortly state ( 1 ) What is known of the origin 

 of these objects by their possessors, and the process by which 

 they are held to reproduce themselves ; ( 2 ) The evidence I have 

 been able to collect respecting their existence and a description 

 of what I have myself seen ; ( 3 ) The objections raised against 

 the possibility of such an alleged reproduction and, ( 1- ) Some 

 concluding remarks regarding certain other natural occurrences 

 which may be held to confirm the possibility of an event as yet 

 inexplicable by even advanced scientists. 



The Pearls in question are reputed to come chiefly from 

 Borneo and Java, although found in nearly all islands of the 

 Archipelago, and even in Singapore; there does not appear 

 to be any specific native name for them as distinguished 

 from ordinary pearls. As regards appearance, those shewn me 

 resemble the ordinary jeweller's pearl in look, though slightly 

 more irregular in shape. The largest of regular shape I have yet- 

 seen is something over three sixteenths of an inch in diameter, 

 though an irregularly formed one is over \ inch in length, by 

 y^rths. in width, while the smallest is a mere pin-point of mi- 

 croscopic dimensions. As regards substance, they are alleged to 

 present exactly the same laminated section as the ordinary pearl 

 when cut, and a lady, resident in this Colony, informs me that 



