948 On the Salts, called Puckwah and Phool- Kharee. [No. J 20. 



15. I find as a datum [the only one I can obtain,] that, by the 

 return you have obliged me with, the mean importation of Saltpetre 

 into Calcutta, before the abolition of the transit duties, from 1831 to 

 1835, or four years, was 



Factory maunds, 4,51,446 



But as we know how smuggling flourished in those days, even within 

 the Custom House itself, we may I think fairly call the real imports 

 bazar — instead of factory maunds. 



Say then, imports, bazar maunds, ... ... 4,51,446 



Average exports for the same period, from Custom House 



tables given by Stephenson, are bazar maunds, ... 4,25,683 



The apparent consumption of Saltpetre for Calcutta, is 



thus bazar maunds, ... ... ... ... ... 25,763 



Throwing away the odd hundreds, let us say 25,000 maunds for 

 Calcutta, and this for such a circle of it and its environs as would 

 include a population of a million. If our Bengal Saltpetre grounds 

 and factories supply only as much of all India as includes a popula- 

 tion of 50 millions, we have then 25,000 maunds to multiply by 50, 

 or 12,50,000 maunds for the consumption of 50 millions of inhabitants ; 

 reducing this again to less than one-half, because of the more quiet 

 habits of country villages, we may still say, that the home consumption 

 equals the export ; or that we have 5,00,000 bazar maunds, produced 

 somewhere, for that purpose also. 



14. This appears startling, but when we recollect the almost per- 

 petual vollies of fireworks, small arms and cannons, which are kept 

 up, in one place or other, all over the country, and every day in the 

 year, and often night and day, and that all gunpowder contains 75 per 

 cent, of Saltpetre, we shall not be so much surprised. Here is ano- 

 ther calculation bearing upon this matter. 



Buchanan in his statistical table states that, for Patna City and Zillah 

 Behar, there are 



A tusbaz, or firework-makers, .. ... ... 118 



For the district of Bhaugulpore the same artificers, ... 44 



Total, 162 



