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chap, xx PREFERENCE FOR WHITENESS 91
retained
their water the pearls are always white. They are allowed to open of
themselves, because if they are opened by force, as we open our oysters
in the shell, the pearl may be damaged and broken. The oysters of the
Manar Strait open of themselves, spontaneously, five or six days sooner
than those of the Gulf of Persia, because the heat is much greater at
Manar, which is at the 10th degree of North Latitude,1
while the island of Bahrein is at about the 27th. And consequently
among the pearls which come from Manar there are few yellow ones found.
Finally, at the Orientals are very much of our taste in matters of
whiteness, and I have always remarked that they prefer the whitest
pearls,2 the whitest diamonds, the whitest bread, and the whitest women.
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CHAPTER XXI
Concerning the manner in xvhich Pearls originate in Oysters how they are fished for and at what Seasons.
I am aware
that according to the testimony of some ancient authors, who were not
well instructed in these matters, it was commonly believed that the
pearl originates from the dew of heaven, and that but one is found in
each oyster;3 but experience proves the contrary. For, as
regards the first, the oyster does not stir from the bottom of the sea,
where the dew cannot penetrate, and sometimes it is necessary to dive
for them to a depth of 12 cubits, as we shall see presently ; and as
for the other, it is common to find as many as six or seven pearls in a
single oyster, and I have seen one in which there were ten or so in
process of formation. It is true that they are not all of the same
size, because they are produced in the oyster in the same manner as
eggs are in a fowl: as the largest egg advances towards the orifice and
goes out
1
The true Latitude of Manar, a gulf or arm of the sea between Ceylon and
Southern India, is about 8° to 9° N. Lat., and of Bahrein about 27° as
stated.
* On p. 85 it was stated that slightly yellow pearls have the preference.
« Pliny, Nat. Hist., ix. 54 ; Fryer, ii. 362 f.
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