326 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
TREATMENT OF PEARLS WHEN FOUND. 
Concerning the treatment of pearls when found, definite answers were received in 
52 papers, which, in some respects, show considerable diversity of usage. The pearls 
are first thoroughly washed to remove all adhering animal matter, and two papers 
speak of using alcohol to complete the cleansing. After this the essential point in 
keeping or carrying them is to prevent injury to the surface from friction, and the 
majority of those who describe what is done tell of wrapping in cotton, or soft 
paper, cloth, flannel, or silk. Several speak of drying them, or keeping them dry. 
But others would keep them in a liquid, six specifying a bottle of water and one sweet 
oil or coal oil. Several speak of putting them into a bottle, but with no account of 
its contents, or whether even dry, though an Indiana paper mentions cotton in a bottle, 
and hence, in the cases just referred to, it is impossible to judge as to what is the 
probable meaning. Two papers mention keeping pearls in starch, and one “in Irish 
potato.” The effect of sunlight is curiously alluded to by two papers, one stating 
that pearls should be kept from it, and the other that they should be kept in it. 
Six Tennessee papers make interesting references to “peeling” dull and unprom- 
ising pearls, merely saying that this is sometimes done “with a sharp knife,” and a 
nice pearl obtained thereby. Alcohol, whiting, chamois leather, etc., are mentioned as 
employed to produce a good surface of luster. Two other papers allude to polishing 
or cleaning pearls, one specifying that it is done “with Irish potato.” Two papers 
say nothing under this head, save that there is no way to improve nature. 
DESTRUCTION OF THE MOLLUSKS. 
As to what, if any, use or disposal is made of the shells after being examined for 
pearls and the animals destroyed, the papers give a painful record of the utter waste 
of an enormous amount of material valuable for many purposes in the arts. The 
question is answered in 74 papers, with a melancholy uniformity. In only 12 of them 
is there any suggestion of utilization of the shells, and in only 1 of the use of the 
animals other than as fish-bait, manure, or food for hogs. Twenty-six answers say 
simply that there is no use made of them, or that they are “wasted” or “thrown 
away”; 9 say that they are thrown in the water, and 6 add that the fish eat them and 
also the muskrats and tortoises; 7 speak of their being used for fish bait; 6 for feeding 
hogs, and 2 for manure. Several merely say that they are left on the banks or shoals 
for rats, minks, and crows to dispose of. 
An Iowa pearler states that the shells are utilized for button making, and that 
some people use the animal for soup. The actual use of the shells for buttons is also 
referred to by two pearlers, and their possible value for that purpose is noted in four 
other papers, though they are not so used as yet. One says that a few are polished 
for ornamental purposes, and another makes a similar statement, adding that they are 
also used to pave garden walks and burned for lime. This latter use, for lime, is 
referred to also by three Tennessee papers as actual or possible, and one says that 
they might be “ ground to cement,” and one Wisconsin writer notes that some are 
ground up for poultry. 
AS A FOOD PRODUCT. 
There would seem to be a strong presumption that the mound-builders must have 
used the Unios quite largely for food, as we know that the later Indian tribes did, as 
will be referred to further on. They naturally were thus led to the finding of pearls, 
