92 MANUFACTURES. [chap, iv 



sticks, &c; the jewellers' work is rough, but jewellery i^ 

 more than commonly abundant, owing perhaps to the break- 

 ing up of many old families of the ancient proprietors, when 

 their precious stones and other valuables came into the 

 market. The women are famous for their beautiful needle- 

 work, and the nuns very skilful in imitating flowers with 

 dyed feathers. The young girls plying the distaff at the 

 doors of the houses by the roadside add a picturesque effect 

 to the scenery : these distaffs are made simply of the Arundo 

 donax, split and bowed into the proper shape at the top. 



There is a manufacture by handlooms of coarse linen 

 and stuffs, which are worn by the country folk. Pottery, of 

 an inferior texture, is made from materials furnished by the 

 finer beds of red tufa ; and leather is tanned on a small scale 

 for island use. 



