assortment is made as to color, regularity of form, &c., and here the tastes of different nations have to be consulted. The Europeans prefer pure white pearls, the Indians yellow pearls, and the natives of Ceylon those which are tinged with rose-color. Besides the number of persons who arrive in Ceylon in the fishing season for the purpose of speculating in pearls, there are also numerous Indian artisans who are very expert in piercing and drilling pearls, and who practise their trade on the spot on economical terms. A writer thus describes their operations: "A machine made of wood, and of a shape resembling an obtuse inverted cone, about six inches in length and four in breadth, is supported upon three feet, each twelve inches long. In the upper flat surface of this machine holes or pits are formed to receive the larger pearls, the smaller ones being beat in with a little wooden hammer. The drilling instruments are spindles of various sizes, according to that of the pearls; they are turned round in a wooden head by means of a bow handle, to which they are attached. The pearls being placed in the pits which we have already mentioned, and the point of the spindle adjusted to them, the workman presses on the wooden head of the machine with his left hand, while his right is employed in turning round the bow handle. During the process of drilling, he occasionally moistens the pearl by dipping the little finger of his right hand in a cocoa-nut filled with water, which is placed by him for that purpose; this he does with a dexterity and quickness which scarcely impede the operation, and can only be acquired by much practice. They have also a variety of other instruments both for cutting and drilling the pearls. To clean, round, and polish them to that state in which we see them, a powder, made of the pearls themselves, is employed. These different operations in preparing the pearls occupy a great number of the black men in various parts of the island. In the black town, or pettah of Columbo, in particular, many of them may every day be seen at this work, which is well worth the attention of any European who is not already acquainted with it."