way into it, a growth of mother-of-pearl is formed either to stop the hole in the shell or to protect the delicate flesh of the mollusk from contact with the foreign substance. There is almost always a speck of sand or something of that sort in the center of a pearl, and the shells which contain large excrescences of mother-of-pearl usually show outward marks of damage. The oyster may even be forced to produce plants and mother-of-pearl by introducing some foreign substance into it, or by piercing the shell in such a way as to lay bare the flesh, but great care must be taken to do this without in any way injuring the bivalve. A great regularity of form, a brilliant white color with reflections similar to those of the opal, and size, are qualities that give the pearl its value. They are apt, however, to suddenly lose their brilliancy, but this evil is not without a cure, for if a pigeon is made to swallow such a damaged pearl, and killed within a few hours afterward, it will be found in its stomach, restored to all its original luster, a result due to the action of the gastric juice of the fowl and the intestines. Care must be taken not to leave the pearl too long; in the space of twenty-four hours it will lose one-third of its weight.

WHALE FISHERIES.

For a long period, many years before the revolutionary war, our people were noted for their push and enterprise in whale fisheries. No nation has been able to compete with them in a prosecution of a business that has simply become stupendous. As early as 1774, Burke, in his great speech on American affairs, paid a high compliment to the energy and enterprise

of the American people. He said: "As to the wealth which the colonists have drawn from the sea, by their fisheries, you had all that matter fully explained at your bar. You surely thought these acquisitions of value, for they seemed to excite your envy; and yet the spirit by which that enterprising employment has been exercised ought rather, in my opinion, to have raised esteem and admiration. And pray, sir, what in the world is equal to it? Pass by the other parts, and look into the manner in which the New England people carry on the whale fishery. While we follow them among the trembling mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen regions of Hudson's Bay and Davis' Straits, while we are looking for them beneath the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the opposite region of polar cold; that they are at the antipodes, and engaged under the frozen serpent of the South. Falkland Island, which seemed too remote and too romantic an object for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage and restingplace for their victorious industry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them than the accumulated winter of both poles. We learn that while some of them draw the line or strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others run the longitudes and pursue their gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries. No climate that is not witness of their toils. Neither the perseverence of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enterprise, ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pursued by this recent people; a people who are still in the gristle, and not hardened into manhood."

This great interest was checked for a time during the revolutionary war, but was prosecuted with renewed ardor as soon as peace was declared. The waters of the southern seas have long been famous for the abundance of the black-headed sperm whale; not away towards the frozen pole, but within the tropical circle and in the waters surrounding the islands of the South Sea. The fisheries in nearly every portion of these regions are followed with great success and profit, the black whale being taken as well as the sperm, in great numbers. These localities are favorite feeding and breeding grounds, the prolific animal life, the immense growth of the squid, the favorite food of the sperm, the immense number of marine animalculæ, the principal sustenance of the black whale, make a resort where mammals delight to make their homes.

Whale fishing has been so often and so well described, the minutest particulars being gone into, that the subject has become hackneyed, and is only alluded to here as one of the many prolific sources of industry and wealth offered to enterprise in the southern seas.

THE TURTLE AND ITS HABITS.

Many of the island groups of the South Sea are noted for the great number of turtle that frequent their shores. They are wonderful navigators, with very retentive memories, and, like the seal and sperm whale, do not make any new locations, but return year after year to the places of their birth, and make almost the same spots their feeding and breeding grounds. These exact habits have made the business of turtle fishing certain and profitable, not only as an article of food, but for the valuable oil they contain, and for the shell,

which modern processes have rendered of great value. The tortoise, too, with its valuable covering, is much sought after, and the shell worked into beautiful ornaments all over the world.

The food of the turtle is the sea-moss growing on the coral reefs, and the young beche-de-mer, forming their principal repast. The female, when about to lay, which occurs once a year, chooses the time when the moon is full, and is watched and guarded, during this interesting process, by her mate, who lays "off and on" just outside of the surf-line. Selecting a portion of the beach with a sunny exposure, she waddles ungracefully to a point about ten yards beyond the line of high tide, proceeds to excavate a place in the warm sand something larger than her own body in diameter, and in the center about two feet deep. Having arranged her nest in a satisfactory manner, she deposits the eggs, about one hundred in number, and in size a little smaller than a billiard ball. The nest is then filled in with sand and levelled over, and great care and attention exercised in obliterating all traces of the sand having been disturbed. After taking all these precautions, she hies herself to her mate, and they swim contentedly away.

If she is disturbed during her preparation for hatching, a retreat is made, and she will not be seen again for nine days; if again interfered with, she will remain away for a like period; and if still again disturbed, will seek some other favorite spot or island, and will not return to this particular breeding place until the coming year.

If these places of incubation are watched, in about a month the young turtle will be found digging their way out of the nest and making for the sea. At this

time they are about the size of one of our silver dollars, and are quite lively and quick in their movements —which seems only a wise provision of nature, as they have many enemies to contend with.

THE TORTOISE.

The Galapagos are also celebrated for the great number of land tortoise that make their homes on those islands. They are of the genus Testudo, and are altogether inhabitants of the land; of little value, except as food.

The tortoise (Testudo inbricata), whose shell is so beautiful and valuable, is a species of sea turtle, and with similar habits. The shell of the tortoise covers the back in plates overlapping each other like tiling, and in its natural state is about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. It has the property of being molded in any form at a heat of 212 degrees, and retaining the given shape on cooling. Many tons of the shell are exported to Europe and America, where it is worked into the many ornamental and useful forms we meet with in the stores. This species is seldom found in the west longitudes of the Pacific.

SPONGE FISHERIES.

Sponges, classed by some writers as belonging to the marine species of vegetation, and by others to the marine animal kingdom, a species of the zoophytes, have long formed an important article of trade in all parts of the world. The Bahamas, in the West Indies, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the Levant, Green Turtle Bay, the Orient, with some