The pearl-mussel is found in very many of the Russian streams. It occurs throughout Archangel, in most of the rivers which flow into the White Sea, into Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega, and the Baltic Sea; and likewise in the Volga watershed. Von Hessling states that east of the Volga its southern boundary extends to Lat. 56°, while on the west it extends further southward, so that in the region of the Dnieper it reaches Lat. 51°. The extreme southern limit is near the mouth of the Don, about 47° north latitude.[[232]]

In northern Russia pearls are secured in the provinces of Livonia. Esthonia, and Olonetz, and in the grand duchy of Finland, where they have been sought after for three centuries or more. Most of them are bluish gray in color and they attain a maximum weight of about twelve grains. Although not equaling the oriental gems, these pearls are of good quality and are highly esteemed, not only by the peasants but by the nobility and by the royal family of Russia. For reference to most of the historical data relative to the fishery in Livonia, we are indebted to an account written by H. Kawall.[[233]]

So long ago as 1612, Dionysius Fabricius compared the pearls of Livonia with those of India. Said he: “Nor should I omit to mention that there are rivers in Livonia wherein large pearls are produced in shells; and I myself have seen some as large as the oriental, especially when they are well grown. But because the peasants of this region are too ignorant to determine with certainty when they mature, they are unable to collect them properly, and therefore the pearls have become rarer.”[[234]]

According to Mylius,[[235]] in the seventeenth century, when Livonia belonged to Sweden, the pearl resources received attention from the government. Charles IX of Sweden decreed October 22, 1694, that the pearls therefrom should not be exported but should be sold to officers of the crown at a definite price. In 1700, an inspector of the fishery in Livonia, whose name was Krey, reported that the peasants collected pearls secretly from the small rivers and brooks, and forwarded them to Moscow for sale. As the peasants objected to selling them to the king’s commissioners at the prices fixed, the fishery soon dwindled in extent. However, on the annexation of Livonia to Russia in 1712, and the removal of these restrictions, it revived and became of local importance during the last years of the reign of Peter the Great.

In 1742 the Livonian fishery was reorganized at the suggestion of a Swede named Hedenberg. Furnished by the government with funds and an escort, he began an exploration of the pearl-bearing waters, commencing with Lake Kolk, where he secured many pearls of value, some of which were presented to Empress Elizabeth.[[236]]

The fishery then came into great favor. To the nobility of Livonia, in whose domains the brooks were situated, the crown accorded sixty rubles for each half ounce of choice pearls secured, and for every half ounce of the second class, thirty rubles; but the nobles were obliged to renounce their rights to the fisheries and to permit the lakes and brooks to be guarded by imperial soldiers. Owing to the very great destruction of mussels which yielded no pearls, a reward was offered to any one who would discover a method of determining from external characteristics those individual shells which contain gems of value.

In 1746, when the Empress Elizabeth passed the summer in Livonia, large quantities of pearls from the neighboring brooks were presented to her. But, owing to the cost of supervision, the expenditures soon exceeded the revenues and the government abandoned the guard and dismissed the fishermen. Little by little the search decreased, and by 1774 relatively few pearls were found.[[237]]

According to Hupel, the Schwarzbach River, near Werro, was celebrated for its pearls, which were noted for their size and beauty; one of the tributaries of this river is named Perlenbach (Pearl Brook). The Ammat and Tirse streams, and forty other brooks and lakes also yielded them. Pearls of slight value were likewise produced in the Palze and the Rause, near Palzmar; the Paddez, a tributary of the Evest which empties into the Düna, and the Voidau and the Petribach, each of which flows into the Schwarzbach. Near the Tirse was a very old road house, patronized by the peasants, which from time immemorial had borne the name Pehrlu-kroghs (Pearl Tavern).

Formerly some of the brooks of Esthonia on the Gulf of Finland, and principally those near Kolk and the adjacent lakes, furnished beautiful pearls. From these waters came the beautiful necklace which is yet an heirloom in the Kolk family. The choicest of these weighed from five to ten grains, and the color was grayish blue. The Emperor Alexander I is said to have received a present of pearls collected in the vicinity of Tammerfors, in the government of Tavastehus, in the grand duchy of Finland. The development of manufacturing in that region, however, has destroyed most of the mussels.

Von Hessling notes that in the province of Olonetz, pearls are found in the Poventshanka, in the Ostjor, and in the Kums, where they are secured by the neighboring peasants who sometimes make valuable finds.[[238]] When the brooks dry up, the mussels are easily secured; old inhabitants note that on one occasion of this kind many superb pearls were found in the Poventshanka, and a necklace of them was presented to the Empress Catherine Alexievna. These pearls rarely leave the province in which they are collected, as the inhabitants are fond of using them for personal decoration. Young girls attend to the fishing, and workmen pierce them for about two copecks each. Choice ones sell for thirty to one hundred rubles apiece.