Nov. r, 1893.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
331 
crushed into a shapeless mass, but he is held in a vice 
that knows no slackening uiitil the rising tide puts an 
end to his sufferings ; or, if in the less dreadful 
conticgenoy be may manage,' if assisted by compauioris 
to free himself, he remains a cripple fcr life. Suoh 
cases are naturally very rare, but the writer was told 
a dramatic story of such an occnrrecce by a Milay 
who had witneaseJ it. Assuming, howtver, that no 
Buoh mischacce occurs, and the enormous shell has 
been safely got to beach, the clam, like the oyster, 
will in a few days die from lack of water. Perhaps 
a single shell in six cr seven may yield on.3 or two of 
the muoh-prized pearls. As a lule, they aro of 
nearly spherical shape. Fiae specimens are from 
a quarter to three-eighths ol an inch in length, and 
three-sixteenths in width, or of s'ill moie iirrgalar 
outline. The fortunate finder, hewever, is sure of a 
good price tor his treasure. The pearls, when present, 
are usually situated close to the valvts cf the shell, 
although in some cases embedded in the fish. 
In order to make the mother pearls thus procured 
produce other?, various means are adopted. They 
may be placed in a closed bottle of sea or fresh 
water, but the more common proceeding is to enclof e 
them in a box with several grains of Pulot rice. Aud 
tben, Bcoorditig to the intormalion of breeders, 
cnridus change happens. The circular or nearly 
circular mother-pearls alter their form and become 
pear or hour-glass shaped, or mere formlefs lumps 
of pearly matter. Those seen by t!.e writer were at 
leiet 3-Sths of an ii ch to J inch in length, After 
being left in darkness for a period varying from one 
to three, four, or even eight years, the bottle or bos 
on being examined is found to contain a number of 
other pearls, varying in size from the merest pinhead 
to that used in the best class of jewellery. In one 
case a lady well known at Singapore pDsssssed a 
box in which, as averred, had been put about twenty 
years previously some four or live "breeders." When 
examined by the writer it contained about 120 of 
various sizes. The social position o£ the owner for- 
bade, in a general way, the supposition of fraud. 
But as no class is exempt ficm a desire to mystifj' 
other people, an isolateo case like this would lave 
dono but little to slreugthen scientific bflief in the 
real existence of the "breeding pearl." Corroboration, 
however, came from so many independent qaarters 
that the sistement above men'ioned could not be 
dismissed as imaginative. The head mistress of the 
local girls' school, a Eurasian chemist and bis 
partner, both cf repu'able standing, a Chinese cleik, 
a lady who had dir posed of a number of pearls 
thus bred, and who, 'n fact, was chiefly supported 
by such sales, and the wife of a Government 
ofhcial of high etandir>g, whose account was corro- 
borated by three friends, besides her husband and 
» family, were among the numerous witaessea who 
declared mo-t positively that they had actually bred 
pearls in the way desorit-ed. In the last-mentioned 
caifl the pearls were seen and examined by the 
writer, nice haviug been pioduced by the three 
originally placed in the boxes. All were unanimous in 
asserting thatafter « certain pariod the m Uher-pearls 
lose their lustre and "die," the outer surface changing 
to a dirty flake white, and peeling off in scales. 
When about to " breed " a small black speck makes 
its appearance on some portion of the pearl, and 
this speck continues visible as long as the breeding 
process continues. It is noteworthy that although, as 
above mentioned, the giant clam furnishes the prin- 
cipal supply of breeding pearls, th«y are also ob- 
tained from the pearl oyster. The pearls thus bred 
have been submitted to eminent scientists in England 
who pronounce them to be indistinguishable ttom the 
ordinary gem. 
On the other hand, a good maiiy trial-i to obtain 
pearls in this way have failed. A med.cal friend of 
good standioK and a solicitor resi<lent iu the Straits 
both met with DOD-Buccess Another cturions fact 
must be mentioned. In the cases above cited the 15 
ur -U groins o( rioe placed with the breeders ap- 
eavod, after a lapse of a fow mcn'hs, to have had 
DO end biltPU into, as if by an iu oot. and the 
writer can confirm the truth of this statement. 
But, oddly enough, a report appeared in the press 
some years ago that the Kani of Sarawak having 
submitted some pearls and rice (as supposed) to 
Professor Tyndall, the latter was found to be a 
small shell common in the Malayan Archipelego ; 
Bud the whole story was pronoutced to be a pure 
invention. But in addition to the fact that the 
grains examined by tV^e writer were undoubtedly 
rite, tUb alleged fact that peerls will breed as de- 
scribed in water alone introJuces a fresh conside- 
ratioD. The rehult at which the meaibeis of the 
Straits Asiatic Society arrived appears to have been 
an open one. It was held that either the allega- 
tions made were true, or that a most singular 
agreement (o a«ert an abs.lu'e fa'sehcod had 
been come to by people personally unknown to 
f aoh other and who had held no inter-communi- 
cation on the subject. The believers and disbelievers 
were about equal in numkers, bn^ ibo'e who repe- 
FPi^ted the latter in the debate on the paper admitted 
that if on a jury, they would have convicted a 
prisoner upon testimony as stroiisf, and apparently 
independent and uninterested, as thai g.ven iu sup- 
Vort of the existence of I reedinfj 1 e irl^. So here this 
curious question rests. One great reason which 
prevents experiment is the high price now asked for 
the mother-pearls. But the matter is quite worth 
further trouble, and if the local socie'y were requested 
by any scientifiy body in England to make an 
exhaustive inquiry, a mass of curious evidence would 
probably be forthcom'ng. It may be added, in con- 
clusion, that a lady, m rried within the last two 
months, was presented by her mother with a hand- 
some pearl rirg, the pearls of which she had herself 
bred. The brhie's mother is the wife of a well-known 
resident in the Straits Settlmeuts, and the story will 
bear strict examination. 
There is one other form of pearl, eo called, of 
vegetable origin — a oaloareous forEoation, sometimes 
nearly as large as a marble or tit's egg, now 
and then found in the interior of th« coconut. Mr. 
Streeter records their existence, but offers no opinion 
as to their formation. Of their being found there can 
be no doubt, as they are frequently offered for sale at 
enormous prices by the Malays, who regard them as 
moEt valuable charm?. The secretion of > mineral 
substance by another plant is exemplified in Tahasheer 
the siliceous matter found in the interior of the stem 
of the large bamb"o. The coconut pearl appears to 
resemble it in hardness, and ttiough somewhat jel- 
lower than the ordinary pearl, it bears a curious re- 
semblance to the latter, botli as regards lustre and 
appearance. The "coconut" and "breeding" pearl 
a'e about rquil'y common — or ancommon — in Mala- 
jaa countri's. — Fall Mall Gazette. 
TEA XOTES AND ^'EAVS. 
Our Kajghnr oorre-pondenk writes on 3rd October 
1893 :— Rainfall to 30th ultimo 69-60 agaitst 108-55 
inches t ) -. he sume cat -3 last 3 ear. September closed with 
a large increase on all gardens near here, last year 
that month having been a particularly small one 
for yield. The prospect for October appeirs to be 
good and the season generally seems likely to be s 
gf-od one fcr quantity, but the reports of i rice 
Ute.y to hand are not very encouraging. 
Dhan planting is now finished ftnd very well the 
crop-; are looking, shewing every promise of a good 
yield. 
Onr Darjeeling correspoj.dt nt writes on 11 h 
October 1893 :— The past ten days or so have b. i n 
bright and warm, especially in the vall'v-, ratlier 
foggy in the mornings on the higer elevation*. Rain 
hai been promising the last two or three days and 
now and then fitful showera have fallen. Leaf i.< 
fairly good for time of year, althouKb blight has 
made sad havoo on some eetatec A nioo autumn 
flavour ia now ehewiug iu the t6»i(, »o iuvoices ahorriy 
gi'^T tnrvvard should bhew si.nie very t.00 ' averag*. — 
/. y. Gauttc. 
