which 51 were large and 42 small ; 32 semi-clear Pearls ; 59 refuse and 42 black Pearls.
Formerly
the Pearls were made over to the Royal Museum of Natural History in
Dresden, but at the present day they pass under the control of the
Ministry of Finance. In 1802 the Royal Museum sold local Pearls for the
sum of seven thousand thalers (£1,050), and with the proceeds purchased
the Rachnitz collection of minerals. Some of the finest Elster Pearls
are preserved in the Green Vaults at Dresden. The method of fishing is
thus described by Mr. Dall, who derived his information from a report
by Dr. Nitsche, on the Pearl-fishery as illustrated in the Berlin
Exhibition of 1880. "The waters are inspected in spring, to see if the
mussel-beds have been disturbed by ice or débris during the
freshets. The area over which the fisheries extend is not searched
every year, but is divided into 313 tracts, of which each tract is
considered as equal to one day's work for three Pearl-seekërs ; and
only 20 or 30 tracts are fished over in any one year, so after fishing,
each tract has 10 or 15 years' rest before if it fished over again. The
Pearl-seekers who appear to be quite at home in the water, gather the
mussels with a peculiarly-formed piece of iron, which is sharpened at
one end. With this they pry open the valves, and search the animal for
Pearls.
