It generally lies scattered and detached over the pebbly bottoms, but it also exists in reefs or beds which are sometimes of considerable extent. These occur usually where a stretch of water is still and deep, and oftentimes where the depth places the mussels beyond the reach of the fishermen. Apart from the pearls it contains, the mussel is of no economic value except that in some localities the mollusk is used for bait in cod-fishing. In recent years the pearl-mussel has been numerous in several of the rivers of Scotland, such as the Tay, Earn, and Teith in Perthshire; the Dee, the Don, and the Ythan in Aberdeenshire; the Spey and Findhorn in Inverness-shire, and also the classic Doon of Burns, the Nith, the Annan and others in southern Scotland; however, it is rare in the Clyde and the Tweed. The Teith has long been famed for pearl-bearing, though like other rivers it has become nearly fished out. The Tay produces many pearls, yet as a rule they are not of the best class. Some of its tributaries, as the Tummel and the Isla, also bear pearls; those in the Isla are usually fine and rank higher than those from the Tay. The Earn is also famous for the fine quality of its pearls, but the whole river was robbed of its wealth some years ago by a body of professional fishermen, and it has not yet recovered from the raid; few pearls now exist there save in the deeper pools, where doubtless may still be hid “full many a gem of purest ray serene.” In Ireland pearls have been found principally in the rivers of counties Kerry, Donegal, Tyrone, Antrum, etc. In an article in “The Field,” December 10, 1864, Mr. F. T. Buckland stated that they abound near Oughterard, and that a man called “Jemmy the Pearl-catcher,” who lived there, told him that he knew when a mussel had a pearl in it even without opening the shell, because “she [the mussel] sits upright with her mouth in the mud, and her back is crooked,” that is, corrugated like a ram’s horn. Pearls are yet found in several localities in the Emerald Isle, notably in the river Bann in the northeastern part and in the beautiful Connemara district in western Ireland. In 1892 the Bann yielded one of the choicest pearls that ever came from Ireland. Within the last twelve months Lady Dudley, wife of the Viceroy of Ireland, presented to Queen Alexandra a number of pearls from the Connemara. These were mounted in a green enameled brooch, and excited so much admiration that an active demand for similar gems quickly developed in County Galway.