396 



Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



"Fat dae ye say to a hunner pun'?" He meant pounds 

 Scots. "A hundred pounds, sir!" exclaimed the jeweller. 

 " It is a beautiful pearl, a very beautiful pearl, but a hundred 



pounds is a very large sum ; and" "Aweel," said the Aber- 



donian, who saw from the manner in which the jeweller 

 spoke that if he stuck to his demand it would be granted, 

 " that's the price, tak it or want it." After a little hesita- 

 tion the bargain was made, and the farmer got an hundred 

 pounds sterling, instead of the " hunner pun" Scots, equal 

 to eight pounds six shillings and eightpence, which he asked 

 when he went into the shop. The jeweller afterwards sold 

 the pearl to the king. 



Dr J. A. Smith reminded the Society that Mr Alexander 

 Bryson read a paper at their meeting in February 1860 " On 

 the Structure and Formation of Pearls," an abstract of 

 which was published in their Proceedings. Mr Bryson's 

 views were quite in accordance with those of Mr Brodie. He 

 might also mention that specimens of shells with pearls arti- 

 ficially produced by the Chinese might be seen in the 

 Museum of the Society of Antiquaries. 



Mr C. W. Peach said it was a common statement in the 

 Highlands, that pearls were not to be got there since the old 

 system of keeping black cattle had been abolished, and he 

 believed there was a good deal of truth in this, although he 

 would not explain it as the Highlanders might be inclined 

 to do. He believed the herds of cattle wading in the streams 

 would crush and injure many of the mussels, and, as Mr 

 Brodie remarked, cause them in this way to form pearls 

 within their shells. 



II. Farther Observations on the Boulder Clay of Caithness, with an 

 additional List of Fossils. (Specimens were exhibited.) By Charles 

 W. Peach, Esq. 



At your meeting of the 25th February 1863, a paper of 

 mine was read on the above subject. At the close, regret 

 was expressed that " the author had not been a little more 

 explicit in his details of the clay-beds, and the exact locali- 



