igS A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



pieces of various denominations. Tribute- copper from Yunnan 

 is sent down river by way of Chungking to Ichang in native 

 craft, and at the latter port is placed on board steamers for its 

 intended destination. 



The department of Huili Chou also yields white copper 

 (Peh-tung) in considerable quantities. This alloy is produced 

 directly from the ores, in which the composing metals appear 

 to be always present in little varying proportions. The 

 coppersmiths receive it in round cakes about 7 inches in 

 diameter. They remelt and alloy it with copper, zinc, tin, 

 and lead in varying proportions to suit different purposes. 

 White copper is used for an infinity of purposes, of which the 

 making of water-pipes is one of the most extensive. 



Spelter or zinc (Peh-yuen) is found from the prefecture of 

 Yachou southward to the boundaries of the province. Lead- 

 ores occur from Sungpan Ting southward to Yunnan, but are 

 perhaps more abundant in the district of Chingchi Hsien than 

 elsewhere. Sulphur is found in the district of Kuangyuan 

 Hsien in the north, the department of Mao Chou in the west, 

 and the prefecture of Nanch'uan in the south. This latter 

 region supplies the greater part of the province. The industry 

 is carried on under Government surveillance, and the retail 

 price is regulated by the provincial authorities. Iron-ores 

 are found all over the mountainous regions of the west, but 

 except in the prefecture of Yachou are less worked than in 

 the region of the Red Basin. 



Coal is scarcely found west of the limits of the Red Basin, 

 and antimony, which has recently figured as a large export 

 from the Hunan province,^ has so far only been recorded from 

 one district in Szechuan, and that in the extreme south-east 

 corner of the province. A very inferior kind of jade occurs 

 in the district of Wench'uan Hsien, where it is mined and 

 exported to Kuan Hsien and Chengtu Fu, at which places it 



^ This antimony is exported through Hankow. The Imperial Maritime 

 Customs Returns of that port for 1910 give the following figures relative to this 

 trade ; — 



Piculs Taels 



Crude antimony . . . 157,486 value 900,377 



Ore .... 21,909 ,, 58,004 



Refuse .... 41,568 „ 13,871 



