dais, and the Brahman, having repeated some mantras, gives a sacred thread to the bridegroom to place over his shoulders. He then blesses the mangalasutram (marriage badge corresponding to the Tamil tali), and hands it to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck, his sister or other elderly matron seeing that it is properly tied. The bride's father comes forward, and, placing his daughter's right hand in the bridegroom's right, pours water on them. The other ceremonies are exactly similar to those practiced by the Brahmans." Girls are invariably married before puberty. Widows are not allowed to remarry, and divorce is not recognised. The Kamsalas are either Madhvas, Saivites, or Lingayats. All revere the caste goddess Kamakshi Amma, who is represented by each sub-division in a special manner. Thus the Kanchara represents her by the stone on which he beats his metal work, the goldsmith by one of his implements, and the blacksmith by his bellows. On the eighteenth day of the Dasara festival, an annual festival is celebrated in honour of the goddess. The dead are buried in a seated posture, but, in recent years, some Kamsalas have taken to cremation. The death rites closely follow the Brahmanical form. Death pollution is observed for twelve days. In the Vizagapatam district, some artisans are engaged in the ivory-carving industry. They "manufacture for European clients fancy articles, such as chess-boards, photograph frames, card-cases, trinket boxes, and so on, from tortoise-shell, horn, porcupine quills, and ivory. The industry is in a flourishing state, and has won many medals at exhibitions. It is stated to have been introduced by Mr. Fane, who was Collector of the district from 1859 to 1862, and to have then been developed by the Kamsalis, and men of other castes who eventually took it up. The foundation of the fancy articles is usually sandal-wood, which is imported from Bombay. Over this are laid porcupine quills split in half and placed side by side, or thin slices of 'bison,' buffalo, or stag horn, tortoise-shell, or ivory. The ivory is sometimes laid over the horn or shell, and is always either cut into geometrical patterns with a small key-hole saw, or etched with designs representing gods and flowers. The etching is done with a small V tool, and then black wax is melted into the design with a tool like a soldering iron, any excess being scraped off with a chisel, and the result is polished with a leaf of Ficus asperrima (the leaves of which are very rough, and used as a substitute for sand-paper). This gives a black design (sgraffito) on a white ground. The horn and porcupine quills are obtained from the Agency, and the tortoise-shell and ivory mainly from Bombay through the local Marvaris. The designs employed both in the etching and fret-work are stiff, and suited rather to work in metal than in ivory; and the chief merit of this Vizagapatam work perhaps lies in its careful finish--a rare quality in Indian objects of art.