MUSCLE. 
575 
Donegal in Ireland. Single pearls were sold from 
four pounds ten shillings to ten pounds, and one, 
considered however as an extraordinary instance, 
weighed thirty-six carats, and was valued at forty 
pounds, but being foul lost much of its worth. 
But it is not the muscle alone which produces 
this beautiful ornament ; other shell-fish will some- 
times deposit the same substance ; and we lately saw 
a pink pearl which was taken from the body of a 
very large kind of whelk*, which is fished up by 
the Negroes off the island of Barbadoes, and sold in 
the markets as a delicacy, This beautiful prize w r as 
discovered by chance, while the men w r ere employ- 
ed in cleaning the fish. It weighs twenty-four 
grains, and would have been more valuable if it had 
been of a round shape. Only four of these pearls 
have been discovered in the vast numbers of shell- 
fish that are annually brought to market in that part 
of the world, though we have reason to believe that 
this is in some measure owing to carelessness in the 
Negroes, who clean their fish without consideration, 
and have probably in their hurry returned many a 
pearl to its native element along with the refuse of 
the animal. It should be remarked that the pearl 
is exactly of the same colour as the interior coat of 
the shell, and is like it in every respect except in 
figure. 
We must now leave these precious shells to de- 
scend to the common muscle, which, notwithstand- 
* Stromlus Gigas Linn. 
