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Ch. 11: Pearl Fisheries

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THE PEARL
the Perthshire Tay pearls were taken, which gained so much notoriety in the middle of the eighteenth century when some fifty thousand dollars worth were sent to London from this stream in three years.
Scotch pearl-fishing was revived in i860 and some fine ones were sold to Queen Victoria, the Empress of the French, the Duchess of Hamilton and others. Pearl-mussels have been found in Lochs Rannoch, Tay, Lubnaig and Earn, also in the Don, the Leith and other streams. Some are found in the Welsh streams, and the river Bann in Ireland was noted for the fine pearls found in it. Many years ago there was a pearl fishery at Omagh in the north of Ireland. An old writer claims that Caesar obtained pearls of such bigness in Britain that he tried the weight of them by his hand.
The fishers wade for them in shallow pools, or thrust sticks between the open valves, or drag branches over them, for as soon as any­thing enters between the two shells they close upon it at once. The mussels are found gen­erally set up in the sand of the river-bed with the open side, if the current is very strong,
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Ch. 11: Pearl Fisheries Page of 358 Ch. 11: Pearl Fisheries
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