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Onyx, Nicolo

Onyx, Nicolo Page of 384 Onyx, Nicolo Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
ONYX.
231
" It may be proper to add here a description of the process of cutting, polishing, &c, the stones, as carried on at Cambay in the present day.
" The most extensive consumption of Agates is required for the manufacture of beads, of every variety of size and colour, which are in demand for exportation to the African and Arabian coasts, as also for the islands of Zanzibar and Mozambique, where they are bartered for ivory, gold-dust, rhinoceros'-horns, &c. The stones are in the first instance broken into small pieces by means of hammers, and the beads are formed in the rough in the following manner :— An iron pin is driven into the ground with the sharp point upwards. The person operating places the part of the stone he wishes to break on this point, and with a small hammer he strikes the stone and continues the process until it has become partially round. This operation is performed chiefly by women, boys, and young girls. The work is then carried to another person, who proceeds with the operation. He has a large slab of hard sandstone before him, placed in a sloping or inclined position, and with a clam made of two pieces of wood, with a joint at one end, with two nails in the centre by which the stone is held ; he works the stone over the surface of the slab, constantly changing its posi­tion, so that in a very short time it becomes round. After this it goes to the polisher and then to the driller. The hole is drilled by means of diamond dust and water. The drill is supported on a small frame and worked by a long bow backwards and forwards. Seals, &c, are all cut in this way, except those that require fiat surfaces. This is effected by a lap, made of coarse lac and koorun (country emery), and formed into a thin wheel, two feet in diameter, supported on two pivots, and worked by a strap of leather pulled backwards and forwards. Bloodstones, Agates, &c, are formed into various articles by means of sheet-iron
Onyx, Nicolo Page of 384 Onyx, Nicolo
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