52 



nitial success of the new oil and guano industry, the 

 development of which in the immediate future, seems 

 assured ; here success seems to be due to several factors, 

 such as,, (i) the obvious profit, (2) the visible ease and 

 simplicity of the process, (3) the occasional existence of 

 a rudimentary process of oil extraction, especially in 

 South Malabar and as a cottage industry near Manga- 

 lore, (4) the assured market, which depends upon an 

 existing and effective external demand and not upon 

 internal questions of custom, taste, and organization of 

 retail trade as is the case with edible goods of a quality 

 or preparation novel to the country. 



In this latter case it is just the organization that is 

 the difficult matter, and this is precisely where a Gov- 

 ernment department can help but little — however altru- 

 istically anxious — without running up against opposition 

 often more sentimental or Groundless than valid. As 

 regards oil and guano it is wholly the action of Govern- 

 ment that has initiated the new industry of which the 

 propaganda began in 1907 but more particularly in 1908 

 and it is gratifying to remember that the industry means, 

 at its lowest, the conservation and utilization of oil, 

 hitherto wasted or, rather, destroyed in beach drying the 

 oil-sardine for manure, and that this conservation means 

 an economic benefi.t in the early future amounting in 

 mere money to many lakhs of rupees, in addition to 

 many collateral benefits, such as the industrial and 

 commercial stimulation afforded by the trade, and the 

 readiness and ease with which the new light weight 

 guano, unadulterated with sand, can be transported to 

 and assimilated by the crops of the country. 



