•34 BREEDING PEAELS. 



Keeliil beach. Many people believe that they come to better 

 perfection if kept in sea water. I have reared mine in closed 

 boxes, with Pnlot rice strewn losely around them and the whole 

 covered with a layer of cotton silk, though Mr. L. J. Scheerder 

 has successfully reared some in fresh water. I am not able to 

 say what is the average percentage of these pearl-producing 

 shells, but out of 15 or 20 I picked up at Tanah Merah I only 

 came across one. Mr. P. Marcus tells me he has extracted them 

 from all descriptions of bivalve shells, the larger the shells the 

 larger being the pearls. In one case he took a very large one 

 from the Tridacha g'igas, or giant clam, (of which a specimen 

 may be seen at the foot of the stairs leading to the Raffles Li- 



The pearls when discovered are usually found embedded close 

 to the valves of the shell, though in some cases found adhering 

 to the fish. There appears to be no certainty as to size, the breed- 

 ing" pearls varying like the ordinary ones, though the rule as to 

 the largest being- contained in the largest shells does not in the 

 latter ease hold good. * They are almost invariably spherical 

 when found, but, when commencing to breed, change their shape 

 to a more or less irregular oval, with layers of scales on them 

 visible to the naked eye. In some cases the scales are them- 

 selves spherical. 



As regards the time occupied in " breeding," Mr. Woodford 

 names a very much longer period than that specified by the 

 other correspondents who have so kindly answered my enquiries. 

 He states that it usually takes eight years for a seed pearl to in- 

 crease to four times its original diameter, i. e. about -^th of an 

 inch, thoug-h he has seen one over J inch in measurement pro- 

 duced in that period. 



After a certain time (which appears to be uncertain) " breed- 

 ing pearls" die and change their lustrous colour to a dirty flake 

 white, the outer scales appearing to have peeled off. Mr. Wood- 

 ford attributes their formation to insects, though this otherwise 

 feasible theory is at variance with all received beliefs as to the 

 formation of the pearl within the oyster. 



Several other residents have informed me that they have seen 

 breeding pearls and their young (if the term be admissible) un- 

 der circumstances which left no doubt as to the bona files of 

 their exhibitors. I have however doubtless given names enoug-h 

 to help us to a dispassionate discussion of this curious freak of 

 nature. 



