ssed on
to another lathe, where the holes are drilled, and afterwards to
another, where they are polished by friction and a mixture of
rotten-stone and soft soap.

The best white buttons are those which are made from Macassar shells,
and the best black from shells of the archipelago of the Pacific. The
latter are the dearest, in consequence of the black shells not being so
plentiful as those of lighter shades. Some few years since the
consumption of mother-o'-pearl shells in Birmingham amounted to nearly
one thousand tons annually; the failure of the fisheries in Central
America has, however, reduced it to a little more than a third, or about
three hundred tons a year.

Thimbles are made by stamping, and afterwards turning in a lathe, the
indentations being produced by a suitable instrument. On the Continent
the operatives make them with punches in as many as five different
mandrils. Scissors, bodkins, etc., have nothing connected with their
manufacture which calls for any special notice. Although, as in previous
papers, I have conducted my readers in paths not usual to girls and
young women, I hope that my description of button-making will interest a
considerable number, and teach them to think more of buttons and how
they are made and by whom made than they have ever done before.

W. W. B.

BITS ABOUT ANIMALS.

A SAGACIOUS COLT.

A gentleman whose pretty garden adjoined a park in which a number of
young colts were grazing, was much annoyed by the inroads of these
animals. He took every precaution to prevent their entrance, but to no
purpose. Fences were examined and found intact, the gate was kept shut,
and yet one or more of the colts would soon be found devastating
flower-beds, or browsing in the kitchen garden. The provoking part of it
was that no one could discover how the creatures obtained an entrance.

At length men were hidden in the trees to watch, and the problem was
speedily solved. A colt trotted up to the gate and inserted its head
between the bars, with the evident intention of raising the latch. He
made several vain attempts, but had not mastered the trick. The latch
remained in its place, and the colt outside.

For a few moments the animal stood cogitating, then trotted rapidly back
to the spot where he had left his companions. He singled out one of the
most frequent visitors to the garden, and, by some language peculiar to
colts, made known his difficulty. The other at once retur