2D 
labour ; others necessitate a long training and great 
expertness on the part of the workers. Of the former is 
the preliminary rubbing down to smoothness and regu- 
larity of the inner and outer surfaces of the working 
sections. ‘The first stage after the latter come from the 
sawing shed is to remove as much as possible of the 
inwardly projecting ‘“‘ beak” which is the remnant of the 
septum between adjacent whorls left after removing the 
columella. The projection has to be chipped off with 
the utmost care as this part of the ring is its weakest 
point as it marks the junction of adjacent shell whorls 
and if the work be done roughly or carelessly, the ring 
is frequently fractured at this place. The tool used is a 
small form of the hammer used to break away the 
columella and the apex, one end of the head being sharp, 
the other blunt. With its aid any acutely projecting 
portions of the margin are also broken off in order to 
reduce to the utmost the labour of rubbing down. It 
may here be noted that owing to the shell having to be 
cut obliquely and not transversely to the long axis the 
sections appear to be cut askew, particularly those below 
the shoulder of the shell, and in consequence the ring in 
transverse section shows one outer obtuse and one outer 
acute angle ; when the latter is specially prominent it is 
usually reduced by careful chipping with a light sharp- 
edged hammer. 
The rubbing'down of the inner surface of the working 
circlet is accomplished in an ingenious manner by means 
of a wooden spindle 18 to 20 inches long, covered with an 
abrasive coating of fine river sand embedded in a rough 
lac basis. Several sections are threaded on the spindle 
which is wedged tightly between the low stool whereon 
the grinder sits and some rigid second support—a tree 
trunk outside the house or a post of the verandah work- 
shop. Smoothing is effected by rubbing the rings up 
and down the spindle till the required effect is attained. 
For this work, the pay given in one workshop visited, 
was 5 annas per 100 sections finished, A/ws 14 anna per 
100 as the cost of the lac with which the abrasive is 
incorporated. The lac used is a coarse quality obtained 
from the Garo hills and elsewhere in Assam. If the 
bangles to be made are of the heavy plain pattern 
required by low-caste Hindu women, the sawn (lateral) 
