As to _color_, the choicest pearls are pure white or delicate rose pink or creamy white. Pearls in these shades can be had in numbers and these colors are what might be called _regular_ colors. _Fancy-colored_ pearls have peculiar and irregular values, depending a good deal upon rarity and upon the obtaining of a customer for an odd color. Fine pink and fine black pearls are examples of the type that is meant here. To be very valuable a pearl must have a smooth even _skin_, that is, the _texture_ of its surface must be even and regular. It must not have pits or scratches or wrinkles, or little raised spots upon it, or any cracks in it. In connection with this topic of "skin," it may be mentioned that it is sometimes true that a pearl of bad skin or of poor luster may be improved markedly by "peeling" it, as the process is called. As was said above, a pearl is built in layers much like an onion, and it can often be peeled, that is, one or more layers can be removed, thus exposing fresh layers beneath, whose texture and luster may be better than those of the original outside layer. "PEELING" A PEARL. Possibly an anecdote of an actual case may serve best to explain the method by which "peeling" is sometimes accomplished. The writer was once at Vincennes, Ind., on business, and there became acquainted with a pearl buyer who was stopping at that place to buy fresh water pearls and "slugs" from the rivermen who gather the mussels for the sake of their shells. The latter are made into "pearl" buttons for clothing. It happened that the pearl buyer had accumulated some twenty-eight ounces of slugs and a number of pearls and was leaving on the same train with the author, who shared his seat with him. While we were looking over the slugs together the pearl buyer put his hand in his pocket and drew out a five-dollar bill which he unrolled, exposing a pearl of about six grains, well shaped, but of rather dead luster. Remarking that he had paid but $4 for it and that he had rolled it up in the bill for safe keeping until he got time to peel it, he took out a small penknife, opened one of the blades, put a couple of kid glove finger tips on the thumb and first finger of his left hand and proceeded to peel the pearl on the moving train. Holding his two hands together to steady them, he pressed the edge of his knife blade against the pearl until the harder steel had penetrated straight down through one layer. Then with a flaking, lateral motion he flaked off a part of the outer skin. Bit by bit all of the outer layer was flaked off, and that, too, without appreciably scratching the next layer, so great was the worker's skill. When the pearl was completely peeled it was gently rubbed with three grades of polishing paper, each finer than the previous one, and then the writer was allowed to examine it. The appearance had been much improved, although it was not of extremely fine quality even when peeled.