133 
THE CHINA CLAY INDUSTRY OF CORNWALL AND 
DEVON. 
By J. II. COLLINS, F.G.S., Secretary oe the Royal Institution of 
Cornwall. 
rpRAVELLERS by the Great Western Railway in the West of 
JL England, after crossing the great Albert Bridge at Saltash, 
passing over the tree tops in the deep valleys about Liskeard, 
and leaving the deserted copper mines of St. Blazey and Par on 
their right hand, usually observe truckloads of peculiar white 
substances occupying the sidings, and are especially struck with 
the whiteness of the streams crossed by the railway — which 
closely resemble rivers of milk.* 
Naturally they begin to ask what it means, and the writer has 
often been amused by the gravity with which some fellow- 
traveller, who seems to think it disgraceful to confess ignorance 
on any subject whatever, vaguely talks of lime, or more boldly 
of chalk. Perhaps some native happens to be present, who 
politely assures him that he is in error — that neither chalk nor 
lime are present in any form — and that the peculiar whiteness 
is caused by a refuse product from the china-clay works in 
the vicinity. This of course settles the question usually ; but 
if the original querist happens to be inquisitive or persistent, 
he soon finds that the native in most cases is entirely igno- 
rant of the methods of working, the extent of the works, and 
the uses of the product, and if this is true of the intelligent 
native, still more is it true of the general public. Out of Corn- 
wall it is a rare chance to find either commercial men, or even 
scientific geologists, who have any knowledge whatever of the 
peculiar industry which characterizes many parts of Cornwall 
and Devon, and especially the centre of Cornwall. Yet this 
industry is interesting in itself, employs a large number of 
men, and supplies every year more than 200,000 tons of the 
* Notwithstanding the apparent opacity of the water from suspended par- 
ticles of clay and mica, I have seen trout 8 or 9 inches long taken from these 
streams. 
