Abstract
THE products of the sea are commonly wasted to a very deplorable degree by those who gather and use them. In no instance is this waste more marked than in the search for pearls. By the old method, which is still in vogue as a general rule, an enormous number of the so-called oysters are taken from their habitat and destroyed without any thought of economy. It is said that only one pearl is found in 100 oysters, and only i per cent, of the pearls found are of any commercial value. Thus some 10,000 of the precious molluscs are sacrificed for every useful pearl obtained. Among these victims there must be a vast amount of immature pearls-or seed, pearls in posse, which might grow and become valuable gems, which are deprived of that possibility by premature destruction.
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Radiography in Pearl Fishing . Nature 77, 331–332 (1908). https://doi.org/10.1038/077331b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/077331b0