these
are of considerable beauty. Some are very large, measuring two inches
in length and half an inch or more in width ; but they are rarely of
good form, and their value is commonly far less than that of choice
Oriental pearls. Owing to their irregularity in form, they are scarcely
suitable for necklaces. One of the best necklaces of these pearls ever
brought together sold a few years ago for $2000 ; but individual
specimens have exceeded $1000 in market value. While abalone pearls
are not on the market in any great quantities, one resident of Santa
Barbara has a collection of more than a thousand specimens, ranging in
value from several hundred dollars to less than one dollar each. Most
of the objects sold in curio and jewelry stores on the Pacific coast as
abalone pearls are simply irregular knots or protuberances cut from the
surface of the shell. The California fishermen are credited with having
received $3000 for the abalone pearls in 1904; but it is safe to say
that this represents only a small fraction of their final sale value.
In
the river mussels of Canada, and especially in those from the Province
of Quebec, and the Ungava Region, pearls are occasionally found. These
are usually white and of good luster. They are not the object of
systematic search, but in the aggregate many are secured by Indians and
Eskimos, and some by the trappers and fishermen who operate from
Quebec and Montreal. A number, weighing from one to sixty-five grains
each, were shown at the Colonial Exhibition in London in 1886, and
received favorable notice. Recently, two beautifully matched pink
pearls, weighing about fourteen grains each, were obtained from one
mussel. A single pearl found in Canada has sold for $1000, but as a
general rule they are of relatively little value. The Hudson Bay
traders are represented as having secured a fair share of these pearls.
During
the last few years, many pearls have been found in the streams of
Prince Edward Island and of New Brunswick Province, and also in those
of Nova Scotia. Most of them are well formed, but their color is
generally inferior and their luster deficient. Many of them are buff or
brown in color, some are bright and fairly good, a few are rose-tinted,
and others are slate-colored and even almost black. Toronto jewelers
report that many Canadian pearls are in the possession of farmers and
others in the lower provinces, held by them for higher prices than the
jewelers are willing to pay. The Nova Scotia pearls are from a bivalve
which has been identified as Alasmodon mar-garitifera. They are especially abundant in Annapolis and King counties.
Even
in the streams of northern Labrador and of the Caniapuscaw watershed,
pearls are obtained by the natives, and by the hunters and fishermen
who resort to that desolate country. These closely resemble
