164 
impossibility. I have three ofthese chank pearls in my 
possession ; they are the only ones I have ever seen. 
The largest is a perfect sphere, 43 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 (45 inch X inch), 
oval or elliptical in outline, of a very pale pink tint 
and possessing also the peculiar watered grain shown by 
its fellow. Thethird is salmon coloured, almost spherical, 
with a diameter of 42 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 solong 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 of 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, 
