On the Coal Fields and Coal Production of India. 523 
went to Bengal, and none to Bombay, so that the trade is pro- 
bably coming to an end. 
As Bengal has her own coal, she imports less than Bombay,* 
the returns being :— 
1870. 1877. 
Bombay, : , eee2s0-Gpl ; . 3868:937 
Bengal, : : - 42-433. : eR OS2e 
Durmah, : ; ; 207198 . - eine 
Madras, : . : 11648. ‘ . 22°544 
Sind, 5 : 2 5 1:995 7°855 
815:935 523-384 
Add coke, : : : 21-088 16:149 
337-023 539-533 
That a certain amount of foreign coal will always be in the 
Indian market is certain, since owners of outward bound ships 
find it convenient to make use of it as ballast, and carried in this 
way itis sometimes sold at very low prices ; thus, on one occasion 
English coal was quoted in the Calcutta market at sixteen shillings 
a ton, and it seldom, I believe, rises to much above £2 a ton. 
The trade in Indian coal between Calcutta and Bombay by sea is 
not yet fully developed, and it is uncertain whether it will ever 
assume such dimensions as seriously to affect the imports of 
foreign coal into Bombay. 
In conclusion it may be said that the annual consumption of 
coal in India, for sea-going and river steamers, railways, factories, 
domestic and other purposes, amounts to upwards of one million 
tons, and that, in round figures, one half of this amount is raised 
in the country, and the other imported. 
* T have (p. 517 supra) pointed out that there is a varying point on the railway where 
Bengal coal meets coal imported into Bombay at equal prices, their relative Values as fuel 
being taken into consideration. 
Note on THE Map. 
The accompanying map, reprinted by permission of the Messrs. De La 
Rue from “ Jungle Life in India,” serves to indicate the positions of the 
principal Bengal and Central Provinces fields. Some of the outlying 
portions of the latter and the Sikkim and Assam fields are not included. 
For their positions reference should be made to the map published with 
the Manual of the Geology of India. 
