Probably the most interesting of the pearl fisheries in Germany are those prosecuted in the extreme southwestern part of the kingdom of Saxony, in the picturesque region known as Vogtland. This is not on account of their extent, for the output rarely exceeds $2000 in value in any season; but because for nearly three hundred years they have been conducted with the utmost care and regard for the preservation of the resources. Indeed, a record exists of practically every pearl obtained for nearly two centuries. The waters in which the Saxon Vogtland fisheries are prosecuted are the Elster River, from the health resort of that name to a short distance below Elsterberg; its tributaries, the Mülhaüser, Freiberger, and Marieneyer brooks; the Hartmannsgrüner and the Triebel brooks, the Trieb, the Meschelsgrüner, the Teil, and Loch brooks, and twenty-five or more small ponds. For most of the data relative to these fisheries, we are indebted to J. G. Jahn’s “Die Perlenfischerei im Voigtlande,” Oelsnitz, 1854; to Hinrich Nitsche’s “Süsswasserperlen, Internationale Fischerei-Ausstellung zu Berlin,” 1880, and to O. Wohlberedt’s “Nachtrag zur Molluskenfauna des Königreiches Sachsen,” “Nachrichtsblatt der deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft,” Frankfurt-am-Main, 1899, pp. 97–104. In the year 1621, the electoral prince, Johann Georg I, reserved the pearl fishery of the Vogtland in Saxony as a royal privilege, and appointed Moritz Schmerler as superintendent and fisherman. From that time until the present, this fishery has remained a royal prerogative; and, remarkable to state, except at the close of the seventeenth century when the father-in-law of a Schmerler enjoyed the privilege, all the superintendents of the fishery—twenty-four persons in number—have been direct descendants of the second pearler, Abraham Schmerler, who, in 1643, succeeded his brother Moritz. The present superintendent Julius Schmerler has been in charge since 1889. This fishery is conducted in accordance with regulations of the chief inspector of forests for the district of Auerbach. The present regulations date from June 15, 1827. In compliance therewith an inspection is made of the waters each spring to remove all obstructions and debris that would injure the resources; and, if necessary, entire beds of mussels are removed from one locality to another which appears more favorable. No mussels are opened at that time, for the real search for pearls does not begin until the season is far advanced and the fishermen can wade up to the waist in the water without discomfort.