ANTIMONY, COAL. 305 



serves as a medium of quartz conglomerate. It is found about 

 6 cho (ten minutes' walk) from Seto, and in several other places 

 in the neighbourhood, always in diluvial gravel. The people 

 drive short adits in these gravel pits, without any timbers or 

 other supports, till they come to the places where the mineral is 

 found in pockets. They carry it out in baskets and pour it out 

 on an inclined plane. The fine sand and gravel remain, but the 

 breccia-balls, which are seldom as large as the fist, roll down, 

 and are picked out and tested by women and children, then sold 

 at the porcelain manufactory. The cobalt colour is extracted 

 thus : the washed material is heated till the medium has become 

 a peach-red colour, then pulverized and washed after separating 

 the worthless stone. The portion which has been thus treated 

 is then precipitated by salt water, the precipitate rinsed and then 

 used." 1 



Antimony, or grey antimonite, Jap. Shirome-ko and lyo- 

 shirome-ko, i.e., antimony from lyo. Its real nature and value 

 has only recently become fully known to the Japanese. They did 

 not formerly know how to use the deposits found chiefly in the 

 old slate rocks of the larger southern islands — particularly from 

 Amakusa through Kiushiu and Shikoku, — but now it is a constant 

 and considerable article of export. The antimony mines of the 

 country, those of Ojoin-mura in lyo on the island of Shikoku 

 especially, have furnished our mineral collections for some years 

 with the largest and most beautiful crystals of antimonite known. 



Table B gives the value of the yield of this and other neigh- 

 bouring antimony mines, for the year 1882, as over ^22,385. The 

 mine is situated south-east of the city Saijo, and not far from the 

 copper mines of Besshi. But there are others also in various parts 

 of lyo, especially in the south-western portion, as well as in the 

 neighbouring province of Tosa. They are found on Kiushiu at 

 Bungo, Hiuga, and Higo. The island of Amakusa, too, shows 

 several antimony lodes.^ On the other hand, the find of anti- 

 mony runs in the direction of the southern schist range (vol. i. 

 p. 32), and in a north-westerly direction over a part of Kiushiu, 

 and Yamato on the island of Hondo. 



Coal, Sekitan or Ishi-dzumi. No other article of Japanese 

 mining industry, copper perhaps excepted, is found in so many 

 localities, from the Riukiu islands to Yezo, and no other has 

 engaged so much attention during the last twenty years, nor has 

 any other increased so steadily in the amount and value of its 



^ It is interesting to note that the Chinese name Go-shu means, " Gravel-pit 

 of Go," (the province Kiangsu, where Nanking is situated). We are indeed 

 justified in concluding that Asbolan was found in China also as a cement of 

 gravel, and yielded the blue cobalt for ceramics. At any rate, this popular 

 colour is one of the oldest which was used in both countries for decorating 

 porcelain. 



2 I saw it at Takahama near the west coast in 1875. The lode had a thick- 

 ness of 16-20 cm. 



II. X 



