Part I] Lindsay and Harrow : Lac and Shellac 
made to the Arhatiya by signs under the cloth. The Arhatiya then 
by similar signs conveys particulars of the highest bid to the seller, 
who agrees or not to the sale. The signs are by the fingers and the 
value of a finger depends on the rates at which lac is being sold at 
the time. If prices are in the neighbourhood of Rs. 40 per maund, 
the offer is conveyed by two grasps. The first will intimate the tens, 
each finger grasped representing Rs. 10. At the second grasp, each 
finger joint represents one rupee. For example, if a buyer wishes to 
bid Rs. 35 he will grasp the first three fingers of the Arhatiya’s hand 
to show Rs. 30 and then the whole of the first finger to show Rs. 3 
and two joints of the second finger to show Rs. 2. When the sale is 
completed, the Arhatiya signifies the fact by whipping away the cloth 
and throwing a handful of lac into the lap of the successful bidder. 
The purchasers of lac may be agents of large manufacturers 
who are paid a small retaining fee and a commission on purchases 
effected. More usually they are dealers, frequently Marwari by caste, 
who buy up the lac as a speculation and take it to the manufacturing 
towns, retailing it to the small manufacturers as required. The dealer 
is generally a man of substance, and at first sight appears to be a 
mere parasite of the trade. Were this a fact, he would rapidly 
disappear as the lac trade is very keenly competitive and no true 
parasite could survive the operations of a single season. The raison 
d'etre of the dealer is not far to seek. The majority of the manufac¬ 
turers are small men of little capital, who cannot afford to send agents 
to the stick-lac markets. Further, the lac harvest is reaped during 
comparatively short periods of each year and the small manufacturer 
is rarely able to buy sufficient to last him until the next crop comes 
in. This is where the dealer’s intervention is essential. He buys 
lac as an investment and doles it out to the manufacturer as soon as 
the latter has converted earlier purchases into shellac, sold the shellac, 
realized the price, and is thus in a position to buy again. A further 
advantage in the case of a commodity of values so fluctuating as 
those of lac is the dealer’s participation in the risk. The dealer 
undoubtedly plays an important part in the financing of the industry 
and is honourably entitled to his share of the profits. 
Each crop takes as a rule two months to pass completely through 
the markets. The speculative element is strong, for any given con¬ 
signment of lac may change hands several times up-country before 
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