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Indian Forest Records . 
[Vol. vm 
it reaches the Arhatiya and again in the manufacturing centre before 
it reaches the manufacturer. On the other hand the large manu¬ 
facturers and large cultivators aim at eliminating as many as possible 
of the middle-men. For example, most of the important manufac¬ 
turers employ agents to purchase on their behalf at each of the big 
markets, and those agents again employ sub-agents to purchase in 
the districts. The agent buys as best he can, direct from the 
Baipari, or through the Arhatiya, and his sub-agent in a large 
measure replaces the Baipari. He is daily informed, by wire from 
his head office, of the quantities and qualities required and the prices 
he may pay. Occasionally an Arhatiya will take up an agency 
on behalf of a manufacturer. It should be remembered, however, 
that the number of manufacturers who are able to adopt these 
methods is comparatively small, and that the bulk of the lac passes 
through the ordinary channels. The price of stick-lac in Indian 
markets thus follows very closely the Calcutta prices of TN shellac, 
and fluctuates as local forecasts of the trend of the Calcutta market 
are more or less optimistic. 
In the internal lac trade of India, the chief interest centres in 
^ the innumerable transactions which cover 
Lines of Shellac Trade. . 
the journey of the crude lac from the tree 
to the factory. The transit of the finished article, orange, garnet or 
button lac, from the factory to the port is less eventful. It follows more 
ordinary lines of trade and can be described in a few words. 
Practically all up-country shellac is attracted to Calcutta for 
export; the export trade from Bombay, Karachi, Madras, and Rangoon 
is negligible. Between the up-country manufacturer and the Calcutta 
merchant-shipper, who undertakes the actual shipments to foreign 
countries, stands in some cases a dealer, in some cases a broker and 
sometimes both. The Calcutta dealer is naturally a man of bigger 
standing than the up-country dealer. He is often a Marwari with 
considerable capital at his back, handling other produce besides 
shellac. He has agents in the manufacturing centres who purchase 
shellac and rail it to Calcutta on his account. In some cases also 
he purchases locally from the Calcutta agents of the better class of 
up-country manufacturers. By this means he may accumulate 
considerable stocks in Calcutta which he will sell, when the market 
is favourable, to the brokers or to the merchants or to other dealers. 
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