Mother-of- Pearl and its Uses. 383 



and blistered, with dark spots, and but lightly esteemed in 

 the markets of Europe. 



Not only are they found at the islands, but all along 

 the shores of the mainland, and it is generally believed that 

 a series of deposits exists from the Gulf of Darien to that 

 of CaHfornia. In the waters of the latter place, and along 

 the shores of Central Mexico and Costa Rica, fishers of 

 shell have for a long time enjoyed a profitable employment. 

 Thirteen or fourteen tons of pearl shell were shipped from 

 Guayaquil in 1871. 



The upper portions of the cathedral and some of the 

 churches of Panama are studded with mother-of-pearl 

 shells, which give them a quaint and striking aspect under 

 the reflection of the sun's rays. In many of the houses at 

 Manila, also, the outer side of the verandah is composed of 

 coarse and dark-coloured mother-of-pearl shells and paper 

 oyster shells set in a wooden framework of small squares, 

 forming windows which move on slides. Although the 

 light admitted through this sort of window is much inferior 

 to what glass would give, the material has the advantage of 

 being strong, and is not very liable to be damaged by the 

 severe weather to which it is occasionally exposed during 

 some months of the year. 



From the province of Chiriqui several shipments have 

 at sundry times been made by merchants of Panama, of 

 shells obtained from deposits in that neighbourhood, 

 and boatmen who bring the ordinary edible oyster 

 to market there assert that banks of the pearl-bearing 

 mollusc, at not very distant intervals, abound in every 

 direction on the coast. The small shells, of which many 

 thousands are taken out and cast away, are of no value ; 

 but the full-grown and well-matured shells, rich in their 

 iridescent nacreous beauties, are in high estimation and of 



