Pearl: Sources of Pearls Page 97



	SOURCES OF PEARLS	71

	does not extend beyond 40⁰ north latitude. This species is likewise small, and closely resembles the pearl-oyster of Ceylon, from which it differs principally in coloration. As noted by Jameson, brown and white predominate in the exterior coloring, and the interior of the lip is marbled with yellow ocher and chocolate brown, instead of pink, as in the Ceylon shell. There are numerous other species of pearl-oysters, but they are of slight economic importance, and do not support fisheries of value. As only a small percentage of the individual mollusks contain pearls, it follows that vast quantities are destroyed without any return whatever, and handling them merely adds to the expense of the industry, as well as reduces the resources of the reefs. This could be obviated if it were possible, without opening them, to determine the individual mollusks containing pearls. Among the several methods proposed for this purpose, especially interesting is the use of X-rays, which was suggested by Raphael Dubois of Lyons, France, in 1901.¹ The shells of some pearl-oysters— those of Ceylon and of Venezuela for instance—are relatively thin, and it was thought that by the means of the rays the presence of pearls could be ascertained, and non-pearl-bearers could be saved from opening, and be returned to the reefs without injury. Although the calcareous shell partly interrupts the radiations, it is not difficult to recognize the presence of large pearls. The theory has never been found practical in application, owing largely to the rough and irregular exterior of the shell and the small size of the pearls. The presence of the larger pearls may be ascertained by this method ; but it is exceedingly probable that a very large percentage of the small ones, and especially the seed-pearls, would be overlooked. Furthermore, if in their sixth year oysters contain no pearls, the probability of appearance therein later is very small, and little benefit would result from their return to the water. As to saving the trouble of opening the non-pearl-bearing mollusks, labor in the pearling regions is usually inexpensive, and this cost is far more than offset by the reasonable certainty of securing practically all the small as well as the large pearls by the present method of operation. Owing to the greater thickness and the economic value of the large pearl-oysters—as those of Australia or of Mexico, for instance—the application of X-rays to them is obviously impractical. However, when pearl-oyster culture becomes a highly developed industry, with personal ownership in those mollusks returned to the water, some method such as this might be of great value. Pearls are yielded by various species of Unionidee or Naiades occur- iSee"ComptesRendusderAcadémiedesSciences,"Paris, 1904, Vol.CXXXVIII.pp. 301,302.