MINING PRACTICE. 



95 



children earning less. The number of coolies employed naturally varies 

 according to the size of the mine, but they seldom exceed two hundred 

 and fifty and the number in constant employment in the district is 

 about five thousand. 



In Nellore the miners are principally pariahs with a few ot the 

 shepherd caste earning slightly higher wages than those working in 

 the Behar mines. 



(5)IProduction and Trade. 

 During the year 1900 there were 131 mines, employing 9,51/ 

 persons at work on mica. The total outturn amounted to 916 tons, 

 slightly more than half of this amount being raised in the Nellore 

 district which is now outstripping Bengal in the development of its 

 mica resources. The returns for previous years are shown in the 

 table below ; but there is no doubt that, on account of the large pro- 

 duction in zemindaris, the figures are quite incomplete. In fact, the 

 import returns of other countries are in excess of these quantities. 



1890. 



1891. 



1892. 



IS93. 



1894. 



1895. 



1896. 



1897. IS98. 



Quantity in tons. 



Bengal 

 Burma 

 Madras 

 Mysore 



209 



93 



120 



i go 



1S0 



376 



3ii 



445 



267 



... 



... 



... 



... 



... 



>i 







Si 



100 



■37 



2 



4 



3 



23 



22 



246 



151 



... 





... 



2 



2i 



3 



2 



2| 



A 



356 



262 



2j 



Value. 





£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



Bengal 



9,734 



5.800 



6,543 



10,013 



9,692 



21,107 



22,831 



13,267 



1 5,004 



20,466 



Burma • • • 



2 



... 



... 



... 





11 



... 



... 



■8 



... 



Madras . • . 



76 



430 





500 



460 



3,360 



3,270 



81,342 



37,350 



40,153 



Mysore . 



... 







11 



12 



16 



9 



•4 



13 



14 



( 85 ) 



