Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 176, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 July 1919 — Forminfl Artificial Pearls. [ARTICLE]

Forminfl Artificial Pearls.

Pearls were valuable as gems in China as early as twenty-two centuries before our era, and the Chinese had worked out a plan for the artificial formation of pearls about 700 years ago, which they have carried on extensively. Large numbers of oysters are collected and the shell gently opened to allow the introduction of various foreign substances which are inserted by means of a forked bamboo stick. These pellets are generally made of prepared mud, but may be bone, brass or wood. The oysters are then placed in shallow ponds connected with canals and are nourished by tubs of iflght soil thrown in from time to time. Some time later, from several months to two years, depending upon the size of the gem desired, these oysters are taken out of the shell, the pearls removed and the body of the animal eaten as food. Millions of such pearls are sold annually in China. The most valuable are either round or pear shaped.