702 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



fisheries on the Arabian coast reach a value of over a million 

 and a half of dollars. 



Pearl fishing is also carried on, on the coast of South Amer- 

 ica. Before the Spanish conquest of Mexico the fisheries 

 were situated between Acapulco and the Gulf of Tehuantepec, 

 bu t since that time other beds have been found near the islands 

 of Cubagua, Margarita and Panama. The yield at first was 

 so promising that flourishing cities grew up in the vicinity of 

 these places, and during the reign of Charles V., pearls to the 

 value of nearly a million of dollars were sent to Spain, but 

 the present yield averages only about three hundred thousand 

 dollars. 



When the oysters are taken from the boats, they are piled 

 up on grass mats on the shore, and left in the sun. The mol- 

 usks soon die, and begin to decompose. In about ten days they 

 are sufficiently putrifted to become soft. Then they are thrown 

 into tanks of sea water, opened and washed. The pearls which 

 adhere to the shells are taken off with pinchers ; those that 

 art in the body of the animal are secured by passing its sub- 

 stance through a sieve, after boiling the flesh to make it soft. 

 The shells furnish the nacre, which is split off from the rough 

 outside with a sharp instrument, or the outside is dissolved 

 from the mother of pearl by an acid. Three kinds of mother 

 of pearl are known in commerce, as silver face, bastard white 

 and bastard black ; the first is the most valuable. The pearls 

 are the most important part of the product. Those which 

 adhere to the shell are always more or less irregular in their 

 shape, and are sold by weight. They are called baroque*. 

 Those found in the body of the animal are called virgin pearU, 

 or paragons, and are round, oval or pyramid shaped. Theso 

 are sold generally singly ; the price varying according to size, 

 lustre, clearness, etc. Months after the shells have been ex 

 amined, poor natives are seen diligently turning over the putri 

 fying mass wnich has been cast aside, eagerly searching for 



