the
Teith, the Ythan, and the Spey in eastern Scotland. The summer of 1862
was most favorable for pearling, owing to the dryness of the season and
the low water, and unusually large quantities of pearls were found, the
prices ranging ordinarily from 10s. to £2 6s. Queen Victoria is said to
have purchased one for forty guineas; others were bought by Empress
Eugénie and by the Duchess of Hamilton. A necklace of them was sold
for £350 in 1863.1 The value of the entire catch in Scotland
in 1864 was estimated at £12,000 to the fishermen, the yield being
unusually large in that season owing to the unprecedented drought which
permitted access to the deep beds of the rivers. In some of the streams
the resources were quickly depleted, but in others the fisheries
yielded profitable returns for many years. While most of the pearls
were small, some of them were choice and of considerable individual
value, ranging from £5 to £150, and £500 is said to have been paid for
one fine specimen.
The pearl-mussel of the British Isles (Unio margaritifera) has a thick, coarse and unsightly shell, from 3 to 7 inches in width and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches
in length from the umbo to the lip. The rough exterior is dark brown,
and it is sometimes twisted, distorted and barnacled.
It
generally lies scattered and detached over the pebbly bottoms, but it
also exists in reefs or beds which are sometimes of considerable
extent. These occur usually where a stretch of water is still and deep,
and oftentimes where the depth places the mussels beyond the reach of
the fishermen. Apart from the pearls it contains, the mussel is of no
economic value except that in some localities the mollusk is used for
bait in cod-fishing.
In
recent years the pearl-mussel has been numerous in several of the
rivers of Scotland, such as the Tay, Earn, and Teith in Perthshire;
the Dee, the Don, and the Ythan in Aberdeenshire; the Spey and Findhorn
in Inverness-shire, and also the classic Doon of Burns, the Nith, the
Annan and others in southern Scotland; however, it is rare in the Clyde
and the Tweed.
The
Teith has long been famed for pearl-bearing, though like other rivers
it has become nearly fished out. The Tay produces many pearls, yet as a
rule they are not of the best class. Some of its tributaries, as the
Tummel and the Isla, also bear pearls ; those in the Isla are usually
fine and rank higher than those from the Tay. The Earn is also famous
for the fine quality of its pearls, but the whole river was robbed of
its wealth some years ago by a body of professional fishermen, and it
has not yet recovered from the raid ; few pearls now exist there save
in the deeper pools, where doubtless may still be hid "full many a gem
of purest ray serene."
1 London "Times," December 24, 1863.
