254 
Mr. J. Wallace, Editor of the "Indian Textile Journal" at 
Bombay, took the matter in hand. He had been keenly 
interested in Oriental industries for more than twenty years, and 
the utilization of forest seeds seemed to him to offer the nucleus 
for a minor industry that might take the place of needlework in 
certain schools, as sewing is one of the worst paid occupations in 
the world. The drilling of the seeds was the first problem to 
be solved, and as they varied greatly in shape, appliances had 
to be devised that would hold them and at the same time guide 
the drill so that it might always pierce them in the desired 
manner. All the appliances had to be cheap, easily made, and 
repaired, and simple enough to be used by unskilled labour 
without undue wear. The seeds were finally held in an instru- 
ment resembling a nut-cracker with conical recesses on the 
inner sides which held the seeds and a hole passing through 
the apex of the cone, which guided the drill. These " clamps " 
were made of hard Indian wood in various sizes, and were 
arranged for drilling single or double holes through the edge, 
or side, or for drilling long seeds lengthways with speed and 
accuracy. The steel of knitting needles, piano wire, and old 
bicycle spokes were found to be of excellent quality for drills, and 
tln-y furnished a cheap supply of material which is easily 
converted. 
" 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 con- 
tributed in small parcels by friends, and "the artistic taste of 
the bisters soon produced many charming devices, including 
certain loops for heavy and light curtains, necklaces, napkin- 
>ns, bracelets, seed partieres and screens 
wmch found a ready sale at remunerative prices. Certain of the 
seeds, notably the rudraksha {Maeocarpua Ganitrus, Roxb.), sacred 
;re bleached and dyed 1 1 hich added 
R" } J 1° t ? e , ir value as b "ttons, beads, or hat-pins. This process 
taxed the talent of nearly every well-known chemist in India, 
S ^nerously gave their assistance free. The rudraksha is a 
bv fin? *m ^cal nut with a very rugged surface divided normally 
vw? tl lk \ the diviai °na of an orange, but it has many 
these ™SL m pe / SiZ6 ' and number of 8lit8 ' and t0 each of 
wearVr TJ? , "iT* 1 Vlrtues are ascribed. They protect the 
SlHfrt S and mi8for ^ne, procure success in life, 
varies ith }l ambl + ^ns of the Hindu. Their value of course 
JoTd t T nnlimf °if tl6S a8Cribed t0 tb « m ' ^d they are largely 
LcrXir ,tJZ nst ° rma "<>? ^ taken place with a proportionate 
iK r^r-brin^o i^r r t y ^ ?°"f n * % 
unexpected. re tb - at waB previously quite 
xue typical machine now consists of six 
