Pearl or parasite enters a bivalve mollusk and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, irritated by the intruder, forms a pearl sac of external mantle tissue cells and secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl. Natural pearls come in many shapes, with perfectly round ones being comparatively rare. Typically, the build-up of a natural pearl consists of a brown central zone formed by columnar calcium carbonate (usually calcite, sometimes columnar aragonite) and a yellowish to white outer zone consisting of nacre (tabular aragonite). In a pearl cross-section
Pearl Starr twenty-one when her mother, Belle Starr, was murdered. Belle Starr claimed that Pearl was the daughter of the outlaw Cole Younger. While no official record exists, pictures of a young Pearl Starr show an uncanny resemblance to Cole Younger. Her parentage may always be in doubt. Most historical writers accept that Starr gave birth to an illegitimate daughter named Flossie in April 1887, when she was 18. Belle Starr sent her daughter away to relatives to have her baby. In 1888 Starr's brother, Edwin, was found in possession of stolen property and was shot by his accomplice. What became of