=292. Pearl Workers.= At S.'s, we saw a man grinding the outer and rougher coat off of pearl shells. It requires some strength, as it is done on a stone wheel moved by steam, the shell being kept in its place by a wooden rod held on it. It is wet and dirty work. The water is cold, too, even in winter, for warm water would soon become cold on account of the rapid motion of the wheel; and it would not do to heat the pearl, as it would cause it to split. The polishing was done on a wheel covered with leather, and could as well be done by a girl as a boy. S. had never known women to work in pearl, except to make paper cutters, and then only in Germany. The inlaying of pearl is in some places done by women. A worker in pearl writes me: "The pearl button branch is separate from the pearl shell work. In the first, females are employed; in the latter, they are not, as it is unhealthy and laborious. In Birmingham, England, where pearl buttons are almost exclusively manufactured, upward of two thousand hands are employed. Pearl buttons are made in Newark and Philadelphia." A manufacturer of pearl buttons in Philadelphia writes: "I employ women in finishing, and pay from $2 to $3 a week. It requires from one to three weeks to learn. The prospect of the business increasing is good. The work is regular, and the hours ten a day. I employ women because they are cheaper." To polish pearl buttons is very simple--merely placing the button in a pair of tongs, and holding it against three revolving wheels successively. The carving of pearl is wrist work, and S. thought women have not sufficient strength in their wrists to do it; but I think many have.
=293. Tortoise-Shell Workers.= Shell is made into clock cases, cigar cases, card cases, writing desks, and other such articles, but is most used for combs. In Brooklyn, a manufacturer of shell combs told me they had several times thought of employing women, Gutta percha and vulcanized india rubber have become, to some extent, a substitute for tortoise shell. On tortoise-shell combs the light carving might be done by women; the heavy cutting requires more strength. The sawing out of the figures is suitable for women. The finishing could also be done by them. To learn the finishing would not require a person of ordinary talent more than a week, and either of the other processes probably not more than six or eight weeks. Workers could earn from $6 to $7 a week, if they could have constant employment. The business is very dependent on fashion. P. & B. used to employ girls in rounding the teeth of shell side-combs, and paid each $4; but gutta-percha combs have done away with shell ones. A worker of shell combs told me he had employed girls, paying some by the piece and some by the week. They earned from $3 to $6 per week. It requires about six months to learn carving and sawing--polishing, not so long. Care, judgment, and a good idea of form and proportion, are necessary. The business is now very dull. The style of carving on combs is very different from that worn a few years back. It is now of a heavier kind, and the work not so suitable for women.