near
the town of Paterson, New Jersey, went to a neighboring brook, called
Notch brook, in order to collect some mussels for his breakfast, and,
on opening them, discovered a great many loose pearls falling out,
which he took to a jeweller in Paterson, who stated to him that they
were valuable, and they both began to collect millions of these
mussels, and their eiforts were crowned with success. The preceding
representation of the mussel belongs to the great family of unio, which
was formerly called the avicula mar garitifera, mya margaritifera, but
now known as an alas-madonta arcuata—named by Barnes. Many unios (of
which there are, according to Lea, Say, and other American
conchologists, over six hundred species), contain pearls more or less ;
and Mr. John H. Redfield, the efficient corresponding secretary of the
New York Lyceum of Natural History, informs me that he found the pearls
in the same locality in New Jersey, in three or four other unios, such
as the unio complanatus, unio ochraceus, unio radiatus, &c. A very
perfect pearl in the shell may be seen in the annexed drawing, which is
copied from " Frank Leslie's Illustrated News" of May, 1857; the pearl
is rather dark, and the shell, as may be seen, appears worn oif. This
is one of the characteristics of the shells containing pearls, and it
appears to indicate that the animal is in the decline of life, and that
the mussel is becoming gradually decayed.
The
streams in which these pearl shells are found are generally very
shallow, not more than one or two feet deep, and the shells may be
picked up with the hands; many thousand shells are opened, containing
deposits of the pearly matter, most of which contains shapeless and
colorless pearls, which are so small that they are of no value ; many,
howevei·, contain very perfect pearls ; the crown-pearl, weighing
ninety-one grains, in the possession
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