SALT. 177 



along into Ho-to-tang, which has an elevation of 4,300 feet. In 

 the stream-bed at the river hard, fine-grained red- and hard bluish- 

 white sandstones with quartz infiltrations alternate with the usual 

 type of irregularly fracturing, soft, red, marly shales. The whole 

 series strikes north and south and dips at 45° — 50° to the west. 



Ho-ti-tang, or as it is also known I-shang-ching, has two salt 

 mines, which were opened about the year 1899. The processes of 

 extraction and manufacture are identical with those in vogue at 

 Hsiang-yen-ching and need not be repeated. The boiling-sheds are 

 located in the village and the industry is in the hands of Chinese 

 who appear to form a more prosperous community than the Shans 

 of Hsiang-yen-ching. The boiler-houses are large, commodious 

 brick structures with tiled roofs and are cleaner and better 

 appointed generally than those at the other locality. 80 coolies 

 find employment ; miners are paid 1 mace per 100 catties of rock- 

 salt ; porters in the mines get 5 candareens. There are 8 batteries 

 of 10 or 15 pans each. The official price paid for the salt is Tls. 

 1'80 per 100 catties; the official selling price is Tls. 4*82 per 100 

 catties; the salt tax amounts to Tls. 310 per 100 catties. The 

 average monthly production is about 150,000 catties or 84 tons 

 approximately. 



There are several other salt-mines and brine-wells in this region 



Other salt-producing but 1 did not succeed in obtaining a list 

 centres in the Wei-yuan of them. On the S.E. frontier sheet no. 12 

 T'iDg neighbourhood N< w (r==4 ^^ ft sa]t _ mine is shown 7 



or 8 miles to the south-south-west of Wei-yuan T'ing at the 

 edge of the valley. A number of mines are also indicated in the 

 valley of an unnamed tributary of the Mekong, 20 — 25 miles south- 

 west of Meng-ka, as the crow flies. Davies visited a brine- 

 well at Hsi-kung-ching. 8 miles north of Wei-yuan T'ing along the 

 Chen-yuan- t'ing road (D. ; p. 199). The production of the field is 

 sent to Keng-ma, Mien-ning T'ing, the Shan States west and 

 south-west of Yun Chou and to the Lo-herh mountains. It 

 supplies therefore the wants of the Shan and wilder populations of 

 these parts of Yunnan. 



Salt of the P'u-erh Fu neighbourhood. 



There are several salt-producing centres around P'u-erh Fu 

 (lat. 23° 5' : long. 101° 5') but 1 was only able to visit one at 



