TIN 



Uses. 



Mordant in 

 Dyeing. 



Kalaied or 

 Tinned vessels. 



Artistic 

 Appliances. 



Tinfoil. 



Alloys. 



Trade. 



Imports. 



Straits. 



United 

 Kingdom. 



Eaports. 



INDIAN USES OF TIN 



Burma is a small quantity compared to the requirements of the country.'* 

 The average daily attendance at the tin mines in the Mergui and Tavoy 

 districts was 145 persons in 1905 and 141 in 1906. 



USES. A salt of tin is a highly important material in certain methods of 

 dyeing, as practised in Europe, but in this respect it is apparently unknown to- 

 the Natives of India. It has, however, been used from a very remote period in 

 Native medicine. \Cf. Dutt, Mat. Med. Hind, 1900, 69-71.] By certain classes, 

 especially the Muhammadans, the metal is also extensively employed in tinning 

 copper vessels. Copper vessels, to be free from poisonous deposits, must be tinned 

 or kalaied once a month, thus affording constant employment to a large number 

 of workmen, known as qaVaigars or kalaigars, who are Muhammadans. In, 

 Northern India, vessels which are tinned for the first time are boiled in a solution, 

 of alum, verdigris, sulphate of copper and sal ammoniac. On subsequent occa- 

 sions they are simply coated with tin without any previous preparation save- 

 that of removing the old kalai by scrubbing the vessel with grcmnd kankar 

 (brick dust). Tin, reduced to powder, is mixed with sal-ammoniac and applied 

 by means of a piece of cotton, the vessel being heated on a charcoal fire. It is; 

 then polished with sand and ashes. 



Artistic manufactures, in which tinning forms a definite feature, assume- 

 importance in several centres. Of these the most noted are Moradabad, Jaipur,. 

 Peshawar and Kashmir. The art seems to have come from Persia, and is essen- 

 tially Muhammadan in origin (Ind. Art. at Delhi, 1903, 16). Tin metal is also 

 beaten into leaf or tinfoil, and, after being coloured with lac, is sold in that condition 

 and largely employed in the manufacture of cheap jewellery, tinsel decorations, 

 and as an adjunct in ornamental turnery. Powdered tinfoil may also be mixed 

 \vith lac to produce a metallic effect. Still another use to which the metal is 

 put may be mentioned, namely the preparation of certain alloys, such as that of 

 Bidri ware (Ind. Art., I.e. 46, 211, 217-8). 



Trade. Although the uses of tin are both varied and widespread, 

 relative to other items of trade the metal may be spoken of as comparatively 

 unimportant. And as already indicated, the supply consists chiefly of 

 that obtained from foreign countries. Imports for the period 1900-7 

 have been as follows : 1900-1, 22,741 cwt., valued at Us. 22,08,560 ; 

 1901-2, 26,002 cwt., valued at Rs. 23,54,456 ; 1902-3, 28,000 cwt,, valued 

 at Rs. 25,58,162 ; 1903-4, 40,486 cwt., valued at Rs. 39,29,787 ; 1904-5, 

 39,323 cwt,, valued at Rs. 39,36,023 ; 1905-6, 21,152 cwt., valued at 

 Rs. 24,17,290 ; and 1906-7, 20,336 cwt., valued at Rs. 29,44,061. Ana- 

 lysing the figures for the last year, we find that 19,967 cwt. consisted of 

 UN WROUGHT (block) tin and 369 cwt. of WROUGHT tin. Of the total 

 imports, Bengal takes roughly one-half, 10,864 cwt. in 1906-7, the balance 

 being divided between Bombay, Burma and Madras. Of the unwrought 

 tin, practically the whole quantity comes from the Straits, viz., in 1906-7,. 

 17,486 cwt., and the balance chiefly from the United Kingdom. It should 1 

 be noted, however, that a considerable shrinkage occurred in 1905-6, the 

 imports from the Straits having declined by almost a half, and the total 

 imports from 39,323 cwt. (in 1904-5) to 21,152 cwt. 



It has already been mentioned that the exports go entirely from 

 Burma, and consist mainly of block tin. During the period reviewed by 

 Holland (1897-8 to 1902-3), these averaged 661 cwt. Since then the figures- 

 have been : 1903-4, 480 cwt., valued at Rs. 38,829 ; 1904-5, 457 cwt.,. 

 valued at Rs. 38,268 ; 1905-6, 426 cwt., valued at Rs. 36,761 ; and 1906-7, 

 929 cwt., valued at Rs. 72,312. They have thus been increasing. Prac- 

 tically the whole of the exports are consigned to the Straits. Small quan- 

 tities of foreign tin are also re-exported from India, chiefly from Bombay 

 to Persia and Turkey-in-Asia. The averages during the six years 1900-6 

 came to 1,500 cwt, ; the actual in 1905-6 was 844 cwt., valued at Rs. 90,926. 



Commenting on the production, consumption and prices of tin for the 



1078 



