IMPORTS AND EXPORTS 



LINUM 



USITATISSIMUM 



5 



Stone. 

 Marble. 



Exports. 



Cements. 



re unrivalled in Italy for the beauty of their t iuta. It is well to remember 

 that mai;\ of the columns, altars and floors of the Tuscan cathedrals, 

 which are the admiration of the world, were constructed of these marbles. 

 Mention is also frequently made in the Indian press of the (Jreek 

 marMes. especially those of the Pentilikon quarries near Athens, and 

 from the famous quarries in Thessaly, from which the genuine 

 "\er.Ie Antico" marbles were obtained. Many of the marbles met 

 with in Indian household ornamentation have been derived from 

 Kuropean quarries. 



The otlieial returns of foreign trade adopt two headings, under which Imports. 

 lime, marble, etc., are included. These are "Stone and Marble," and 

 " Building Materials," such as "Cement" and "Chalk" and "Linn-." 

 The IMPORTS of Stone and Marble have rangei I from -!<) 1 ,i'( i> \ o 362,554 cwt. 

 (luring the five years 1902-7, or a valuation of from 2| to 4i lakhs of rupees. 

 The chief item in point of bulk is stone from Arabia and Mauritius, used for 

 ad-making in Calcutta ; and in point of value, marble from Italy to 

 ie extent of an average of 2i lakhs of rupees for each of the years 

 anted. Turning now to the Chalk and Lime. The quantity imported is Lime. 

 annually about 30,000 to 50,000 cwt., valued at about Rs. 30,000 to 36,000, 

 and comes almost exclusively from the United Kingdom and is received 

 mainly by Bengal. The EXPORTS from India have never exceeded 53,000 

 ,t., or a valuation of just under one lakh of rupees. These consignments 

 mostly from Madras to Ceylon. Of the Cements a very different 

 ry has to be told. The totals (during 1902-7) have ranged from 

 6,356 cwt. in 1902-3 to 1,788,428 in 1905-6, valued at from 13J to 32 

 lakhs of rupees. In 1906-7 the imports were 1,714,506 cwt., valued at 

 Rs. 30,87,484. Fully three-quarters of the supply comes from the United 

 Kingdom, and the balance mainly from Belgium, France and Germany. 

 Bengal takes very nearly half the imports : the remainder goes to Bombay, 

 Burma, Madras and Sind in the order named. Of the internal traffic in 

 S'one and Lime very little can be learned. The rail and riverborne 

 returns of minerals show a steady progression from an import of 6,733,264 

 in 1902-3 to 12,744,352 cwt. in 1905-6, with 12,149,239 cwt. in 

 7. Taking the last year the chief receiving centres for Marble and 

 one were : Madras Ports, 3,443,282 cwt. (chiefly from Madras Presi- 

 mcy) ; Calcutta, 2,040,834 cwt. (from Bengal) ; and the United Pro- 

 inces, 569,874 cwt. (from Rajputana and Central India). Chalk and 

 ime : Calcutta, 1,606,523 cwt. (from Assam, Eastern Bengal, Raj- 

 utana and Central India, Central Provinces and Calcutta) ; and the 

 United Provinces, 244,421 cwt. (from the Central Provinces and Nizam's 

 Territory). Lastly, Others a total of 66,986 cwt. Thus Assam and 

 dras are the chief sources of the lime traded in over India, but Bombay 

 d Burma seem to be entirely self-supporting, as there are practically 

 records of interchanges from or to these provinces. 



LINUM USITATISSIMUM, I. inn.. Sp. PL, 1st ed., 1753, D.E.P., 



277 ; Mathiolus, New Kreutterb., 1563, 130 with plate ; also Epitome (ed., v -< ~ 

 Camerarius), 1586, 200-1 with plate ; also C. Bauhin, Opera, 1598, 

 333-4 with plates; Linschoten, Voy. E. Ind., 1598, i., 80; Greaves, Pyra- 

 midogr., 1646 ; Celsius, Hierobotanicon, etc., 1747, ii., 283-312 ; Jones, 

 /. Ind. PL, in As. Res., 1795, iv., 270-1 ; Sprengel, Hist. Rei. Herb., 

 1808, 11; Did. des Sciences Nat., 1823, xxvi., 479-93; Billerbeck, Fl. 



718 



Internal Traffic. 





