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" When the tools had been reduced to practical form the work 

 was taken in hand by the Sisters of All Saints at their school in 

 Mazagon, Bombay, with a capital of sixty rupees and an outfit of 

 tools presented by their friend the Editor, who became chief 

 artificer and inspector to the new industry. Seeds were contributed 

 in small parcels by friends, and the artistic taste of the Sisters 

 soon produced many charming devices, including certain loops 

 for heavy and light curtains, necklaces, napkin-rings, hat-pins, 

 buttons, bracelets, seed partieres and screens which found a ready 

 sale at remunerative prices. Certain of the seeds, notably the 

 rudraksha {Elaeocarpus Ganitrus, Roxb.), sacred to Shiva, were 

 bleached and dyed in brilliant colours which added greatly to 

 their value as buttons, beads, or hat-pins. This process taxed 

 the talent of nearly every well-known chemist in India, who 

 generously gave their assistance free. The rudraksha is a hard 

 spherical nut with a very rugged surface divided normally by 

 fine slits like the divisions of an orange, but it has many 

 varieties both in shape, size, and number of slits, and to each of 

 these varieties special virtues are ascribed. They protect the 

 wearer against sickness and misfortune, procure success in life, 

 and realise all the ambitions of the Hindu. Their value of 

 course varies with the properties ascribed to them, and they are 

 largely sold to pilgrims who visit Benares. When found they are 

 usually very dirty, the interstices being filled with remnants of 

 decayed fruit which adhere strongly, but after the various 

 processes of cleansing, bleaching, dyeing, polishing, and 

 mounting, a remarkable transformation has taken place with a 

 proportionate increase in value. Many of the seeds only require 

 polishing by friction, which brings out a lustre that was previously 

 quite unexpected. 



" The first outfit of tools was soon too small and additional 

 drills were needed. The typical machine now consists of six 

 small horizontal drill heads arranged along a narrow table which 

 accommodates six drillers. The clamp holding the seeds rests 

 upon a small adjustable bracket which supports it at the level of 

 the drill point ; and power is applied by a coolie who turns a 

 wooden wheel at the end of the table. A cord from this wheel 

 makes a single turn around the small pulley of each drill and 

 returns above them to the wheel. One labourer thus serves six 

 drills without any complication of mechanism. The drill heads 

 will, when required, carry wheels for grinding the drills. They 

 will also carry a hook for laying up the silk cords used in 

 embroidery and for making the woolen girdles worn by the Sister- 

 hood. The demand for seeds soon outran the irregular contribu- 

 tions of friends and acquaintanances, but fortunately arrange- 

 ments were soon made for a system of supply direct from the 

 jungles. Space for a display of the work of the All Saints Sisters 

 in the Forest Section of the recent Industrial and Agricultural 

 Exhibition was also provided, where the industry gained a bronze 

 medal and attracted much attention, their ' chicks' or partieres 

 being conspicuous for their rich and harmonious colouring. Beads 



