158 UTILIZATION OF MINUTE LIFE. 



is commonly called " the Chank-shell." They are 

 fished for on the coasts of Ceylon, in the Gulf of 

 Manaar, on the coast of Coromandel, etc., where 

 they are brought up by divers from depths of two 

 to three fathoms of water. Those taken with the 

 snail inside are most esteemed ; the dead shell, 

 thrown upon the beach by the tide, having lost its 



FIG. 17. Turbinella pyrum (Chank-shell). 



enamel, is of little value. The number of these 

 shells imported at Madras from Ceylon is quite 

 astonishing. In the year 1854, 1,875,053 Turbinella 

 shells arrived there to supply the manufacturers 

 of ornaments ; in 1858, 1,268,892 shells were im- 

 ported ; and in 1859, 1,910,050. Indeed, the Chank 

 fishery at Ceylon formerly employed six hundred 

 divers, and yielded a revenue of 4000 sterling per 

 annum for licences. It is now free. Sometimes 

 4,500,000 of Chank-shells are obtained in one year 

 in the Gulf of Manaar, valued at upwards of 

 10,000 sterling. 



The principal demand for these shells is for 



