118 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 13, 1893. 



ing shells rarely contain pearls, wliile on the other hand 

 those that are" deformed often contain pearls of great 

 beauty. There are three indications on which pearl 

 fishers rely for detecting from the outer aspect of the 

 shell the presence of pearls. These are, first, the thread, 

 that is, the recess of elevation extending from the vertex 

 to the edge; second, the kidney-shape of the shell, that is, 

 an indentation on the ventral side; and third, the contor- 

 tion of both shells toward the middle plane of the animal. 



The families with iridescent interior layers are the fol- 

 lowing: Among cephalopods, the Nautilus and Ammo- 

 nite groups, the latter wholly fossil, and among gastero- 

 pods, the Turbo and Haliotis families. In all these forms, 

 the removal of the outer layers of the shell reveals the 

 splendid pearly surface beneath. Such shells, thus 

 "cleaned" with dilute acid, are familiar as ornamental 

 objects, while those of the common oyster and clam are 

 dead white or dark pm-ple, according to their proximity 

 to the part of the mantle which secretes the white or the 

 dark material of the shell. The true pearly or nacreous 

 (iridescent) interior belongs to only a few families of 

 moUusks, and in these alone can pearls proper be formed 

 at all; while in point of fact they are obtained only from 

 a very few genera of shells. 



None of the air-breathing moUusks (the land snails) pro- 

 duce a nacreous shell; and among fresh-w^ater moUusks 

 none are pearl-bearers except certain of the bivalves, 

 notably those belonging to the group appropriately called 

 the Naiades, of which the common river mussel (Unio) is 

 a typical example. The soft internal parts of these mol- 

 lusks are covered by a thin, delicate membrane called the 

 mantle, from the surface of which and particularly from 

 its outer edge, material is excreted to form the inner 

 layers of the shell. The shell consists of two parts, the 

 epidermis and the shell proper, the latter composed of 

 numerous layers. The epidermis, which resembles horn , 

 is chiefly composed of a substance called "conchioline" 

 and is soluble in caustic alkalies. 



The pearls of commerce, however, are almost wholly 

 obtained from bivalve (lamellibranch) shells, of which 

 the following families have a nacreous lining: Aviculidte, 

 Mytilidag and Unionidas, the latter being wholly fresh- 

 water shells, also known as the Naiades. A few families 

 of other genera are also brilliantly pearly, but need not 

 be here discussed. The true pearl oyster (Meleagrina) of 

 the Pacific and Indian oceans belongs to the first of these 

 groups, and has from time immemorial yielded the bulk 

 of commercial pearls, while its large and thick shell 

 fm-nishes the mother-of-pearl for countless ornamental 

 purposes. 



The Naiades are of particular interest in this country, 

 as it is in North America that this group is the most 

 a,bundant, and it is only of the occm-rence of pearls, and 

 the preservation of the fisheries of the United States that 

 my paper wiU treat. Many hundred species of Unio, 

 Anodon, etc. , ha,ve been found in our great rivers and 

 lakes; the Mississippi basin teems with them; for the most 

 part in forms quite distinct from those of the Atlantic 

 watershed and of the Old World. The Unios, while all 

 iridescent, vary greatly in tint, exhibiting all the delicate 

 shades of pink, brown, purple, etc., as well as white. 

 The rivers of Europe, of Mesopotamia, and of China also 

 yield large numbers of Unios; while the allied genera 

 Hyria and Castalia are found in the rivers of South 

 America, 



The same causes and operations that result in the pro- 

 duction of pearls or free nacreous concretions m the soft 

 animal substance of the pearl oysters or mother-of-pearl 

 shells, also produce in a modified way the tuberculous or 

 knoblike protuberances and irregularities of surface that 

 are frequently seen on the pearly inner surface of the 

 valves and projecting therefrom. The flatter or less pro- 

 notmced forms of these nacreous excrescences are often 

 called "blister pearls," beca,use of their resemblance to 

 vesicular eruptions, or water blister caused by burns. 



Fresh-water pearls are found, as before stated, in various 

 species of Unios, more frequently, according to Dr. Isaac 

 Lea, in the Unio complanatus, but also in the following: 

 U. blandianus, U. buddianus, U. costatus, U, elliotti, 

 U. fragUis, U. globulus, U. gracilis, U. mortoni, U. nodo- 

 sus, U. orbiculatus, U. ovatus, U. torsus, U. undulatus 

 and U. virginianus. Not one pearl in a hundred from 

 the Unios is of good shape, and probably not more than 

 one in a hundred is really fine; therefore, as the worth of 

 a pearl depends on lusti"e and form, the greater number 

 obtained from this source are of slight value. 



A hundred pearls have been found in a single shell; but 

 as a rule, these have little or no value. Very curious 

 nacreous groups made of many small pieces are at times 

 found attached to the hinge, but these are generally with- 

 out sufficient lustre to be of value, and are rarely collected. 

 These groups are caused by the aggregation of many small 

 ones cemented by a deposit of nacre, and are often half an 

 inch across. 



In color, the Unio pearl presents an extended series of 

 shades, from dead opaque white, having but little value, 

 through various tints of pink, yellow and salmon, passing 

 through a more decided form of these colors, or a faint 

 purple, into a bright red, so closely resembling a drop of 

 molten copper as almost to deceive the eye. Some are 

 very light green and brown, others rose color, and still 

 others are pale steel blue or russet and purplish brown. 

 The white and the pink j)earls are exceedingly beautiful, 

 and the finest, owing to their delicate sheen or layers, are 

 at times more lustrous than even the best Oriental pearls. 

 This lustre is increased by their greater transparency, and 

 a really fine white, pink, yellow or iridescent pearl is often 

 found quite translucent. In addition to their color and 

 lustre they are beautifully iridescent. They are foimd in 

 many odd and remai'kable shapes. 



Elongated fishlike forms, formed and found near the 

 hinge of the shell, and called hinge baroque pearls, are 

 abundant. Others, with but a slight addition of gold and 

 enamel, seem to represent human and animal heads, bat 

 and bird wings, and similar objects. Mallet-shaped pearls 

 ai"e found with fine color and lustre at each end, but gen- 

 erally with opaque sides; also grouped or bunched masses 

 of pearly nacre, made up of from one to over one hundred 

 distinct pearls in fanciful shaj)es, are of occasional occur- 

 rence. FeatherUke forms, with curiously raised points, 

 and an odd, rounded variety, wdth raised, pitted mark- 

 ings, are quite abundant. A pearl was mounted in this 

 country that strikingly resembles the bust of Michael 

 Angelo, and a number of unique designs have been made 

 of baroques, similar to those moimted by Dinglinger and 

 exhibited in the Green Vaxilts at Dresden. Although the 

 pearls iised here have not been as large as those shown in 



Dresden, greater taste has been employed in mounting 

 them. The variety of the forms being so great, an artist 

 has a wide field for imagination. The pearls, however, 

 have but slight value unless they are beautiful and lus- 

 trous. 



Frequently pearls have an opaque appearance and seem 

 to be worthless, but upon the removal of then- outer layer 

 are found to be clear and iridescent. This outer layer 

 m ay be removed by dipping them in a weak solution of 

 acid, which dissolves the opaque coating, or it may be 

 peeled with a knife, although sometimes the pearl is not 

 of the same material throughout and cannot be. 



That conchologists make so few references to pearls is 

 probably accounted for by the fact that the pearls are 

 contained in old, distorted and diseased shells, which are 

 not so desirable for collections as the finer specimens. 

 Coflectors who have opened many thousands of Unios 

 have never observed a pearl of value. 



Large and valuable XJnio j)earls have been obtained in 

 New Jersey. In 1857 a pearl of fine lustre, weighing 93 

 grains, was found at Notch Brook, near Paterson. It be- 

 came known as the "Queen Pearl," and was sold by Tif- 

 fany & Co. to the Empress Eugenie of France for ,$2,500. 

 It is to-day worth more than four times that amount, and 

 is finer than any pearl shown at the 1893 World's 

 Columbian Exjjosition. The news of this sale created the 

 first great pearl excitement that led to the search for 

 pearls which spread westward throughout the country. 

 TJ-ie Unios at Notch Brook and elsewhere were gathered 

 by milUons and destroyed, often with httle or no result. 

 A large round pearl weighing 400 grains, which would 

 doubtless have been the finest pearl of modern times, was 

 ruined by boiling open the shell. 



Within one year pearls were sent to the New York 

 market from nearly every State, In 1857 fully |15,000 

 worth, in 1858 about $2,000, in 1859 about $2,000, in 

 1860 about $1,500, in 1868, when there was a shght re- 

 vival of interest, and since then many Little Miami 

 Eiver pearls have been found. Since 1860 pearls have 

 come from a comparatively new district, the supply 

 from which is ajjparently on the increase. At first few 

 were found, or rather, few were looked for, west of Ohio, 

 but gradually the line has extended to Kentucky, Tennes- 

 see and Texas, and now Wisconsin is the principal pearl- 

 producing State, while some pearls are sent from Florida, 

 Nebraska and Washington State. 



Some of the earliest American pearls that were foimd 

 came from near Waynesville, O., $3,000 worth having 

 been collected in that vicinity during the pearl excite- 

 ment of 1878. At that time Israel H. Harris, of Waynes- 

 ville, began what has since become one of the finest and 

 best known collections of Unio pearls in this country, pur- 

 chasing, durmg many years, every specimen of value that 

 he could find in that part of the State. Among his pearls 

 was one button-shaped on the back and weighing 38grs. , 

 also several almost transparent pink ones, and an inter- 

 esting specimen showing where a pearl had grown almost 

 entirely through the Unio shell. His collection contained 

 more than 2,000 pearls, weighing over 3,000grs., and is in 

 all probability the last collection that will be made from 

 that district. It was exhibited in the jewelry department 

 at the World's Fair in Paris in 1889. 



A pearl from Montpelier, Vt., was sold for $300; one 

 from Waynesville, O., valued at .$200; one from Boston, 

 Tex., valued at $250; one pink pearl, lOigrs., from Mur- 

 freesborough, Tenn., valued at $80, another at $150; one 

 from Llano, Tex. , valued at |95, have been sold in New 

 York. 



The production during recent years has been a follows: 



S.-ptember, 1881 to 1883 210 lots worth S7,500 



September, 1883 to 1883 72 lots worth S5,000 



September, 1883 to August, 1884 71 lots worth §5,000 



American pearls until within the past few years were 

 generally sold at a figure below their real value, and the 

 values of the above to-day would be fully two or three 

 times those amounts, and at present the local value is 

 often exaggerated several times above theu' true value. 



Since 1889 jjearl fishing in Wisconsin has been exten- 

 sively carried on along the Pecatonica River and the 

 creeks emptying into it, principally between Darlington 

 and Ai-gyle, Lafayette county, as w^ell as on Apple Piver. 

 Many fine pearls, remarkable for brilliancy and lustre, 

 have been obtained, among them some of the finest 

 copper-colored, russet, purple and rich pink tints ever 

 found. Some simple pearls weigh over 50 grains, and the 

 finest ones command from $500 to over $1,000 each. It 

 has been estimated that over $300,000 worth of pearls 

 have been found in the course of the past few years; the 

 pearls frequently commanding higher prices here than 

 the Oriental pearls, and as a result, pearls sent abroad 

 were returned, the prices being abnormally higher than 

 the foreign markets would pay. 



Some of the finest pieces of jewelry shown at the 

 World's Cohmibian Exposition were made of American 

 pearls and American precious stones. A fine collection 

 was on exhition in the Wisconsin Exhibit of the Mines 

 and Mining Building, World's Columbian Exposition; the 

 value of this collection was estimated at over $100,000, 

 but the prices were somewhat fancy ones induced by 

 local demand. During the summer of 1890 the pearl ex- 

 citement extended to Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, and 

 numerous small lakes that lie in Calmnet coitnty. From 

 one to fifty pearls have been found in a single Unio. 

 When numerous, they were usually hinge pearls. As in 

 the former times of excitement, hundreds of men, women 

 and children made trips to these creeks, the men and 

 lioys removing the shells from the river while the women 

 and girls opened them. 



In the same year the pearl-hunting fever extended 

 along the Mackinaw River and the creeks running into it 

 in McLean, Tazewell and Woodford coimties, Illinois. 

 Pearls have also been found in the vicinity of Traer 

 and Geneseo, on Wolf Creek, Iowa. A fine pink pearl 

 was found near WaMa Walla, Washington State, and a 

 number have been sold at Seattle, Wash. 



One of the most singular circmnstances connected with 

 the New Jersey "pearl fever" of 1856 was the discovery of 

 several shells which proved that the local savants had ex- 

 perimented on the pearl-bearing Unios by droppiugmother- 

 of-pearl buttons inside the shell, hoping that the mussel 

 woixld cover them with its secretions. The specimens 

 found had apparently been experimented on over 30 years 

 before, at a time when European scientists were interested 

 in shells received from China, containing small images of 

 Buddha. These images were moulded in tin and placed 

 between the mantle and the shell. The mussels were then 

 retwned to then- natural environment, and after several 



months the layer of mother-of-pearl became of sufficient 

 thickness, and the images were removed. 



In a shell of the Lea Collection of Unionidas, which has 

 lately been presented to the United States National 

 Museum, an oval piece of white wax, flat on the lower 

 side and rounded on the upper, which had been inserted 

 in the valve near the hinge, is entirely coated with a pink 

 nacre. It has been broken out of the shell, the pearly 

 nacre of the lower or flat side remaining in the shell 

 whereas the dome-shaped piece is covered with this 

 material. 



The writer knew a New York lady who purchased n 

 button-shaped Unio pearl that had a black, diseased ap- 

 pearance on one side. It was so set that the imperfection 

 was all below- the mounting. When applauding a,t thr 

 opera one evening the pearl was broken, and upon exam- 

 ination it was found to consist of a very thin nacreou? 

 layer, inside of which was nothing but a hard, white 

 greasy clay. 



[to be conolcded.] 



Another Infant Caribou. 



I TOO have seen a domesticated caribou baby. Lasi, 

 September, w^hile being towed in a canoe up the St. 

 Maurice River, in the Province of Quebec (alas, that I 

 cannot repeat the trip this year!) one of our guides sug- 

 gested that if we cared to see "a leetle caribou— Zot/ifj 

 jjetite—in a barn," we might do so by pausing a,t a farm 

 house on the bank of the river. We did so and fotmd the 

 little fellow apparently enjoying himself in the company 

 of one or two calves. He was fairly tame, and greeted n& 

 with a peculiar note of welcome, soimding like a combine 

 ation of a snort and a cough. The owner was absent, set- 

 we could obtain no particulars as to his capture. 



Truthful James. 



•^wf^ ^ttd ^ntf. 



Visitors to our Exhibit in the Angrling Pavilion at 

 the World's Fair should not fail to examine thej 

 stock of "Forest and Stream" books which will 

 be shown by the attendant. 



A CLOSE CALL. 



Bethel, Me. — A pond about one mile long and one- 

 half mile wide in the town of Hanover, adjoining Bethel, 

 has always been a noted place for brook trout and beai-s. 

 A cottage camp near its shores is named " Camp Bruin," 

 suggested by the number of bears that are yearly trapped 

 and otherwise captured in that vicinity. The pond is 

 named Howard's Pond. 



About two months ago a party from the town of Nor- 

 way, on a fishing trip, occupied. Camp Bruin for a week's 

 outing. In this party was an energetic young fellow, 

 Fred H. Cummings, whose father has a small menagerie 

 of wild and domestic animals. Fred took his dog Her- 

 cules along with the party. Hercides is a very brave dog 

 for his size, for he weighs less than eight pounds and is 

 nicknamed by his neighbors " Slim Jim," he has such an 

 inferior look ; but he is a very courageous little cur, as 

 the people of Oxford county wdU testify, for at the races 

 in Riverside Trotting Park in Bethel, Hercules made 

 much sport by persistently sticking to the track, even, 

 when many horses were doing their best to win the race: 

 on the Fourth. 



One pleasant day Fred, with Hercules, went about a 

 mile to an old pasture in the woods to pick some sti'aw- 

 berries ; and after filling his dish, started for the camp. 

 He had not gone far when he saw three cub bears just- 

 starting to climb a tree. Fred took in the situation at 

 once — if he could only captm-e one of those cubs for his 

 father's menagerie — and acting on the impulse seized one.i 

 Although the cub screamed, scratched and bit, yet he got 

 him under his arm, back toward him, and started for 

 camp on a double quick, stfll holding on to his dish of 

 strawberries. 



After getting on the last half of the distance to the: 

 camp he heard, as he thought, one of his party coming 

 behind him in the woods, and he called to him, but re- 

 ceiving no reply he looked around, when, to his horror, 

 there within a short distance, and making fearful leaps, 

 was the old mother bear, with open mouth and blood in 

 her eyes. Young Cummings very well knew he could < 

 not carry that cub and escape the ravening beast, whicJi was 

 gaining on him at every leap, so he dropped the cub and , 

 called to Hercules. 



As he looked behind to see if the dog was coming, sfciU , 

 keeping up his race, nip and tuck with the bear, he saw 

 that the old mother bear took no notice of the cub he had 

 dropped, but was rapidly gaining on him. Again he ■ 

 called to his dog with a loud voice, and had the satisfac- 

 tion of hearing him yij) very near. The bear was now so 

 near that he imagined he could feel her hot breath on his 

 back, and the dog, bear and young man were then all do- ^ 

 ing their best in the free-for-all race. , 



Now comes in the interesting ending of this singular ' 

 race for life. Hercules nipped the bear's hind legs and 

 detained her, while Cummings made the most of it and , 

 arrived at camp out of breath but still holding on to his i 

 strawberries. 



Bears are very plenty in the vicinity of Bethel. There 

 is no better place on earth for hunting bears than Bethel. 



We have four passenger trains each way, east and west, . 

 on the Grand Trunk R. R. of Canada, and the officers of 

 this road are very obliging to sportsmen. Bethel is within 

 five hours' travel of the foot of the Rangeley Lakes, the 

 Paradise of big game hunting. J. G. Rich. 



Mongolian Pheasants on Long Island. 



The Wyandanch Club, whose headquarters axe afci. 

 Smithtown, and who control the shooting privileges of a 

 very large tract of land in the towns of Huntington and 

 Smithtown, have recently liberated on their grounds 

 about 200 Mongolian phe'asants. The club oflEicers im- 

 ported four pairs of the birds, and hatched out 300 young 

 ones under chickens. Now the young pheasants have 

 been turned loose, and wiU, it is presumed, increase 

 largely each year. 



The Forest axd Stream tspui to press each week on Tiies- 

 day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach | 

 us at the lutest by Monday, and ot-s much earlier as practicabliK 



