203 COTTER : SODA INDUSTRY OF SIND. 



and Central India, as also to the sea-board, each camel-load being 

 taxed at 21 rupees/ 5 A further mention of soda in this Gazetteer 



is as follows. " Thar and Parkar Soda, or hhara cltania, is 



obtained from the dhandks, and exported, and cheroli, a sulphate 

 of lime, 01 gypsum, is found near the village of Ghulam Nabi jo 



Got."* 



The analyses made by Mr. Burkill, prove that the mineral is 

 trona (urao), and not natron as it is called above. The term 

 natron is. however, loosely used in the Gazetteer, while the descrip- 

 tion of the compound as a sesquioarbonate of soda shows that the 

 mineral now known as trona was alluded to, since the mineralogists 

 of that time regarded trona as a sesquicarbonate. 



The late war with Germany and consequent difficulty of 

 obtaining supplies from England drew the attention of the Govern- 

 ment of India and the Indian Munitions Board to the examination 

 of those natural resources of India which in time of peace have 

 remained undeveloped owing to the low prices of imported com- 

 modities. Since manufactured soda in England averaged in price 

 between £4 and £5 per ton before the outbreak of war, the develop- 

 ment of natural deposits of trona could only be regarded as a 

 paying proposition in cases where the deposits occurred on a vast 

 scale, as at Owens Lake in California or Lake Magadi in the British 

 East Africa protectorate. In view of the low price, the develop- 

 ment of small deposits such as those of the Sind desert, situated as 

 they are at a considerable distance from the railway, was not 

 regarded as commercially feasible except for local trade. In 1917 

 the question of the examination of the soda of Sind was taken up 

 by the Indian Munitions Board and by the Geological Survey of 

 India, and it was finally decided that an officer should be sent to 

 Sind to examine these deposits. 



Accordingly I received orders to tour in Sind in the cold weather 

 of 1918-19, and to report upon the soda deposits there. 



My tour lasted from November 9th to February the 13th, 

 altnough the actual work of investigation was done in December 

 and January. When I reached Sukkur early in November, I was 

 fortunate enough to find the Commissioner in Sind (Mr. H. S. 

 Lawrence, C.S.I., I.C.S.) in Sukkur on tour. Mr, Lawrence was 

 greatly interested in my investigation, and very greatly assisted 



\6md Gazetteer, i&74, p. 825. 



