the streets of old towns.
The best carvers are at Bhera, Chiniot, Amritsar, and Batala. The
European demand has produced at Simla and other places an abundant
supply of cheap articles of little merit. The inlaid work of Chiniot and
Hoshyarpur is good, as is the lacquer-work of Pakpattan. The papier
mache work of Kashmir has much artistic merit (Fig. 55), and some of the
repousse silver work of Kashmir is excellent.

[Illustration: Fig. 53. Shoemaker's craft.]

The craft of the _thathera_ or brass worker is naturally most prominent
in the Eastern Panjab, because Hindus prefer brass vessels for cooking
purposes. Delhi is the great centre, but the trade is actively carried
on at other places, and especially at Jagadhri.

Unglazed pottery is made practically in every village. The blue
enamelled pottery of Multan and the glazed Delhi china ware are
effective. The manufacture of the latter is on a very petty scale.

[Illustration: Fig. 54. Carved windows.]

[Illustration: Fig. 55. Papier mache work ~of~ Kashmir.]

~Factories.~--The factory industries of the Panjab are still very small.
In 1911 there were 268 factories employing 28,184 hands. The typical
Panjab factory is a little cotton ginning or pressing mill. The grinding
of flour and husking of rice are sometimes part of the same business.
The number of these mills rose in the 20 years ending 1911 from 12 to
202, and there are complaints that there are now too many factories.
Cotton-spinning has not been very successful and the number of mills in
1911, eight, was the same as in 1903-4. The weaving is almost entirely
confined to yarn of low counts. Part is used by the hand-loom weavers
and part is exported to the United Provinces. Good woollen fabrics are
turned out at a factory at Dhariwal in the Gurdaspur district. There
were in 1911 fifteen flour mills, ten ironworks, three breweries, and
one distillery.

[Illustration: Fig. 56. The Potter.

(_From a picture book said to have been prepared for Maharaja Dalip
Singh._)]

~Joint-Stock Companies.~--The Panjab has not reached the stage where the
joint-stock business successfully takes the place of the family banking
or factory business. In 1911 there were 194 joint-stock companies. But
many of these were provident societies, the working of which has been
attended with such abuses that a special act has been passed for their
control. A number of banks and insurance companies have also sprung up
of late years. Of s