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impossibility. I have three of these chank j^earls in my 

 possession ; they are the only ones I have ever seen. 

 The largest is a perfect sphere, if inch in diameter, 

 porcelain or opal white in colour, of lovely skin grained 

 with a most peculiar mottling something after the fashion 

 of the " watering " of watered silk. Another is 

 slightly elongated in one axis (^\ inch X i inch), 

 oval or elliptical in outline, of a very pale pink tint 

 and possessing also the [)eculiar watered grain shown by 

 its fellow. The third is salmon coloured, almost spherical, 

 with a diameter of W inch. 



A few coat buttons are now made from chank-shells 

 at Dacca, — a recent departure on the part of one or two 

 cutters who have made a feeble and ill sustained attempt 

 to open up new sources of demand. The main obstacle 

 to the success of this new departure lies primarily in the 

 lack of power-tools to cut up, drill and polish the material 

 more cheaply than is possible so long as dependence is 

 placed upon hand labour, however low be the wages paid. 

 Granted even this change, great difficulties in the way 

 of success exist in the lack of artistic versatility charac- 

 terising the chank cutters' trade and the inability of the 

 ordinary Indian manufacturer to appreciate the value of 

 a judicious advertisement of his wares. He grudges to 

 pay out money in advertisement and when he does so he 

 usually brings about the loss he fears by lack of fore- 

 sight in keeping up his stock of the advertised article or 

 by the foolish as well as dishonest trick ot sending an 

 inferior article to that ordered and paid for by the cus- 

 tomer who answers his advertisement. 



With power machinery utilized by firms trading on 

 sound and honest principles, there should be a very 

 great field for the sale of chank buttons There is nearly 

 always a good demand for handsome buttons suitable for 

 the decoration of ladies' jackets and coats and owing to the 

 beautiful porcellaneous appearance of chank-shell when 

 cut and engraved with some attractive or distinctive 

 pattern, suitably designed buttons should meet with 

 appreciation in the European and American dress trade. 

 Rough cut buttons priced at what seems to the European 

 ridiculously high rates are worse than useless, and beyond 

 this the imagination of the Dacca manufacturer cannot 

 soar — at present. 



