PEARLS AND PEARL FISHERIES. 
417 
usage. The pearls are first thoroughly washed, to remove all adhering auimal mat- 
ter, 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 (20) or soft paper (12), cloth, flannel, or silk, several speaking of drying them, 
or keeping them dry. But others would keep them in a liquid, six specifying a bottle 
of water, and one (Wisconsin) 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 writer mentions cotton in a bottle, and a Tennessee correspondent a vial with 
lint; hence in the cases just referred to it is impossible to judge as to the probable 
meaning. Three papers mention keepiug pearls in starch, one (Tennessee) “ in Irish 
potato,” and one (Tennessee) in powdered magnesia. The effect of sunlight is curiously 
alluded to, five papers (Maryland, New York, and Tennessee) stating that the pearls 
should be carefully kept from it, and one (New York) that they should be kept in it. 
Eight Tenuessee papers make interesting references to “peeling” dull and 
unpromising pearls, merely saying that this is sometimes done “ with a sharp knife” 
and a nice pearl obtained thereby; alcohol, whiting, chamois leather, etc., are said to be 
used to produce a lustrous surface. Three other papers allude to polishing or cleaning 
pearls (Tennessee), one specifying that it is done “with Irish potato.” Two papers 
say nothing under this head of treatment, save that there is no way to improve upon 
nature. Here evidently the purport of the question was not clearly understood. 
The answers to question 22, as to what, if any, use or disposal is made of the 
shells after being examined for pearls and the animals destroyed, give a painful record 
of the utter waste of an enormous amount of material useful and beautiful for many 
purposes in the arts. The question is answered in 95 papers, with a melancholy uni- 
formity. In only 17 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. 
Thirty-two answers say simply that there is no use made of them or that they 
are “wasted” or “thrown away”; 13 say that they are thrown in the water, and 8 add 
that the fish eat them, and also the muskrats and turtles; 9 speak of their being used 
for fish-bait, 10 for feeding hogs or poultry, and 2 for manure. Several merely say 
that they are left on the banks or shoals for rats, minks, and crows to dispose of. 
A paper from Iowa 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 in 7 papers (Iowa, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) and their possible value for 
that purpose is noted in 4 other papers, though they are not so used as yet. (See 
pp. 425-426.) A Wisconsin paper says that a few are polished for ornamental pur- 
poses; other circulars (Wisconsin and Tenuessee) contain similar statements, adding 
that they are also used to pave garden walks and sometimes burned for lime. This 
latter use, for lime, is referred to also by 3 Tennessee papers as actual or possible, and 
1 says that they might be “ground to cement,” and 1 from Wisconsin notes that some 
are ground up for poultry. 
On the other hand, an Iowa writer states that “ very few pearls are found in the best 
button shells” and one in Tennessee says that the shells are too brittle for buttons. 
When it is remembered that the native tribes of both North and South America 
made large use of the river mussels as an article of food, as also some of the soldiers 
