434 
J. HORNELL ON 
know of the existence of this grade and of the slight difference in quality between it 
and that of Tuticorin. 
3. Jammaipatti. — An inferior quality of Ramnad shell fished off the mainland 
to the north of Mandapam — thence to Tondi. An inferior shell, small and of poor 
quality, price about Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 per 1000. 
4-7. Patti. — This is the generic name for “ live ’ ’ shells fished off the north and 
north-western coasts of Ceylon. There are several recognized grades of patti, the 
principal being : — 
4. Nayakhad patti or standard patti is the best grade. — The shells so distin- 
guished are of good working size, thick in substance, and of good colour ; the best of 
them approach closely the Rameswaram quality and fetch wholesale from Rs. 70 to 
Rs. 100 per 1000 in the Calcutta market. The name is said to be the Bengal equivalent 
of Neduntivu, otherwise Delft, an island near Jaffna, where the majority are fished. 
Some shells of the same good quality also come from the waters immediately north 
of Mannar Island. 
Other qualities are : — 
5. Small Patti , of same quality as grade 4, but of inferior size and sometimes 
inferior colour. Worth Rs. 30 to 45 per 1000 in Calcutta. 
6. Thin Patti. — -Shells of inferior thickness obtained from certain Jaffna waters. 
Worth about Rs. 25 per 1000. 
7. Mixed Patti. — Neither this nor the preceding grade has come actually under 
my observation. The present quality is said by the dealers to consist of mixed shells 
of inferior quality and colour imported from Singapore via Jaffna. The value ranges 
from Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 per 1000 in Calcutta. 
8. Dhola. — -Dead, sub-fossil chanks from the shallow muddy lagoons in the 
neighbourhood of Jaffna, Ceylon. These are found by probing with an iron rod in the 
soft mud. They are chalky and lustreless and are used for the cheapest and most 
inferior grades of bracelets. A considerable proportion of the large sizes are found 
and these sell for Rs. 5 to 6 per 100 in Calcutta ; the small sizes from Rs. 3 to 4 per 100. 
This quality is the one principally employed in making the compound bracelets 
or gauntlets of 10 to 12 rings affected by low-caste Hindu women in Northern Bengal — 
Paliya caste very largely. 
9. Gharhaki. — A class of squat shells badly adapted for economical cutting coming 
from the Carnatic coast, from Point Calimere in the South to Madras in the North. 
To the defect of shape, they add that of colour, these shells being frequently distin- 
guished by a marked redness of the inner surface. They are also said to be more 
brittle than Tuticorin shells and not to give the high glaze when polished as do the 
latter shells. Karamukhi is a term sometimes employed for those of this quality 
which are characteristically tinted a dirty brick-red at the mouth opening. They 
vary greatly in quality and may fetch anything from Rs. 40 to 80 per 1000 in Calcutta. 
Good average quality, such as are fished on the Tanjore coast, should fetch Rs. 80 per 
1000 wholesale in Calcutta without difficulty. A certain number of inferior shells 
with an undue proportion of small sizes come from the French territories of Pondi- 
