and
the product was not only vastly superior to the imitations
manufactured in Europe, but were scarcely to be distinguished from the
genuine. From Father Entrecolles's very detailed quotation of his
unnamed Chinese authority, we condense this account. In a basin one
half full of fresh water, place the largest mussels obtainable, set
this basin in a secluded place where the dew may fall thereon, but
where no female approaches, and neither the barking of dogs nor the
crowing of chickens is to be heard. Pulverize some seed-pearls ( Yo tchu), such as are commonly used in medicine, moisten this powder with juice expressed from leaves of a species of holly (Che ta-kong lao), and
then roll the moistened powder into perfectly round pellets the size of
a pea. These are permitted to dry under a moderate sunlight, and then
are carefully inserted within the open shells of the mollusks. Each day
for one hundred days the mussels are nourished with equal parts of
powdered ginseng, china root, peki, which is a root more glutinous than isinglass, and of pecho, another medicinal root, all combined with honey and molded in the form of rice grains.
Although
extremely detailed in some particulars, the Chinese account omits much
to be desired as to the method in which the shells were opened to
receive the pellets and the nourishment, and as to the importance of
seclusion from females and loud noises. Admitting that it is
"inaccurate and misleading," this letter seems to indicate very clearly
that the Chinese had some method of assisting nature in growing pearls
in river mussels.
The
first person in Europe whose suggestion of the possibility of
pearl-culture attracted general attention was Linnaeus, the Swedish
naturalist (1707-1778). In a letter to Von Haller, the Swiss
anatomist, dated 13th September, 1748, he wrote: "At length I have
ascertained the manner in which pearls originate and grow in shells ;
and in the course of five or six years I am able to produce, in any
mother-of-pearl shell the size of one's hand, a pearl as large as the
seed of the common vetch."1 There was much secrecy about Linnasus's discovery, and even yet' there is uncertainty as to the details of the method.
The
Linnean Society of London apparently possesses some of the very pearls
grown by Linnaeus, as well as several manuscripts which throw much
light on this subject. It appears from the latter that, under date of
6th February, 1761, Linnaeus wrote that he "possessed the art" of
impregnating mussels for pearl-production, and offered for a suitable
reward from the state to publish the "secret" for the public use and
benefit. A select committee of the state council of Sweden was
appointed to confer with him, and on 27th July, 1761, the
1 Pulteney, "General View of the Writings of Linnaeus," London, 1805.
