Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1875 — About Pearls. [ARTICLE]

About Pearls.

The pearl is a very beautiful as well as i costly ornament and is as much prized as j any article of jewelry. There have been ; several theories advanced in regard to i the formation of the pearl, but none, are j quite satisfactory. This is one of the I mysteries that nature has kept hidden ! from us. The ocean and mountains are j her workstops. The latter men have excavated and tunneled until they haveJ discovered many things not before I thought of, but she reigns securely in the j deep blue sea. Many treasures are stored j *‘far down in the green and glassy brine," i but few are Venturesome enough to- i fathom the depths and bear away the rich spoil. It Is very dangerous work, /or although we have now the divingbell, making impossible fqr jnen to stay under the water for some tiine, they suf-

fer If they go down very often or stay long. But some enterprises are attended with danger and not all as profitable as the pearl fishery. J' The divers are provided with bags in which to put the shells taken from the bottom of the ocean. These are then broken open and the pearls drilled and strung. Black people are generally emplojmd for this purpose, as they are very expert; but, although they are very carefully watched, they sometimes succeed in secreting a valuable pearl. The best fishery in the East is near the Isle of Ceylon, where the season commences in February and lasts until April. A gun is fired as a signal for the boats. All go out and come back gether.—Twenty men go in each boat, ten of whom are divers; the remainder row and assist their companions in reascending. They go out at sunrise, remain busily engaged until noon, when they return, and are relieved of their precious cargo, and are ready for another trip. This is the way that the pearls which people highly prize are obtained. Pearls possess an advantage over precious stones taken from rocks in that they are found with that appearance wfliich gives them their value. They are perfectly polished and finished before they are taken from their ocean home, while stones obtained from the different kinds of rocks need cutting and polishing before they are fit for* the use of the jeweler. Nature gives them, their rough form, and leaves it to art to give it the finishing touches. White pearls are most prized, although some persons prefer those delicately tinted. The Oriental pearls are the finest, on account of largeness and beauty. They are of a silvery white. Pearls have been used as ornaments from the earliest ages, and among all nations. Even the Indians esteemed them before the discovery of America',- for when, the Spaniards first came over they found quantities of them stowed away; but they were inferior, being of a yellowish shade, because the Indians used fire to open the shells. Cortes describes Montezuma, the Mexican Emperor, at their first interview (1577), as wearinggarments embroidered with pearls, and the natives also wore necklaces and bracelets of them.— N. Y. Observer.