purposes.
This species has been regularly exploited in the Adour, in the
Charente, in the Gironde and its tributaries—the Garonne and the
Dordogne and their affluents, and in some other streams in western
France.
There
is a pearl fishery in the Charente River near the western coast of
France, and likewise in the Seugne, a small tributary entering it from
the south. The mussel is known locally under the name of palourde. In an account of this fishery,1
Daniel Bellet states that in the Seugne, where the water is shallow and
clear, the mussel is secured by entering the pointed end of a wooden
staff or stick between the valves of the open shell as the mollusk lies
feeding on the bottom ; as the shell is immediately closed tightly upon
the intruding stick, it is easily removed from the water.
In the deeper waters of the Charente, the fishery is prosecuted on a larger scale. Until recently, the palourdes were
caught by means of a dredge towed by a small boat, which was raised
from time to time and the catch removed. Ten or fifteen years ago the
scaphander or diving apparatus was introduced, requiring seven men for
its operation, and by its use large catches have been made. The mussels
are taken to the bank and there boiled for a time to cause the shells
to open, so that the contents may be easily removed.
The
shells are examined one by one to find any pearls that may adhere
thereto, and then the flesh of the mollusk is crushed between the
fingers to locate pearls contained in the mass; this is done largely by
children, working under competent supervision. Many pearls of fairly
good size and luster are obtained. The flesh of this mollusk is edible
and well-liked in southwestern France ; and the shells are also of
value in the manufacture of buttons and similar objects.
In
Germany the pearl fisheries are most important in streams of the
southern districts, in Bavaria, Saxony, and Silesia. The pearl-mussel
in these waters is not so abundant as formerly ; yet, owing to the care
which has been given to these resources, it is probably as numerous
here as in any other part of the continent. The mussel rarely occurs
singly, generally in small beds or banks contiguous to each other, and
in some favorable regions these are extensive.
The
pearl fisheries of Bavaria have been prominent since the sixteenth
century. They exist principally in the districts of Upper Fran-conia (Ob er franken) and Upper Palatinate (Ober p falz), the
several tributaries of the Danube between Ratisbon and Passau, and in
those tributaries of the Main and the Saale which rise in the Bavarian
mountains, such as the Oelsnitz, the Lamnitz, Schwesnitz, Grünebach,
Vils, and the Perlbach ; also in the district of Lower Bavaria, where in
'"La Nature," 1899, PP· 347. 348.
