No. 31. — 1885.] PLUtoAGo* 



237 



from 50 to 75 cents per diem to the former, and 25 to 30 cents to 

 the women. His stores and picking houses are all cadjan-roofed 

 (that is, roofed with cocoanut leaves), for the very good, but to us 

 novel and strange, reason that the tiles would inevitably fall off 

 any roof under which plumbago was stored or prepared. The 

 dust blown about makes everything so polished and slippery, 

 even the roof rafters and reepers, that tiles constantly slip off 

 and therefore the only safety lies in cadjans ! The first process, 

 is to wash the plumbago in large baskets, the smaller pieces and 

 dust being afterwards spread on an asphalte barbecue to dry. By 

 this means the quality is easily discovered by the practised eyes 

 of the pickers, who separate (in much the same way as coffee) 

 pieces affected by iron ore, pyrites, quartz, or other foreign 

 material, a small piece of which passing into a consignment to 

 the Battersea Crucible Works might ruin the whole lot. Some 

 of the pickers are furnished with iron hammers to break up sus- 

 picious-looking pieces of the plumbago, and others again are em- 

 ployed in brushing the dust off good lumps, and polishing the 

 same with cocoanut husks. There are punched sheet-iron sizers 

 with holes of different dimensions (Nos. 1 to 4), and accordingly 

 large lump, small pieces, chips, and dust plumbago are now-a-days 

 carefully separated. It takes about 100 expert men and women 

 to prepare two or three tons in a day ; consequently this branch 

 of trade must give employment to several thousands of people for 

 the greater part of the year. The cask-making and packing 

 afford further occupation, each barrel holding about 5 cwt., so 

 that some 35,000 casks all made of hora staves (generally 

 deemed a useless timber) were required for last year's shipments. 

 The plumbago is also carried from the mines to Colombo in 

 barrels, which, however, are sent back in shooks and so used 

 repeatedly. Three men are supposed to make 8 or 10 barrels a 

 day. Altogether, therefore, it will be seen that the Ceylon 

 plumbago industry is a very important one to our Sinhalese 

 neighbours. 



U. Mr. W. A, Fernando, whose model store is well worthy of 

 inspection, sells to the European mercantile houses as much as 

 from 1,200 to 1,800 tons per annum. In olden days he used to 

 ship on his own account, and he has received prices as high as 

 £32 and £48 per ton for lump plumbago, which is now only 

 worth £15. His Brownrigg-street store should be visited during 

 the present busy season by all who wish to get some idea of the 

 importance of the Plumbago Industry op Ceylon." 



We now feel confident that the number to which the 



g2 



