29S [November, 1902.] 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 95. 
thousands of dollars have been spent in laying down permanent walks and pavements of 
which the leading material was cement. 
A natural consequence of the increased use of cement has been a very marked stimulus 
to its manufacture. It is doubtful whether any other staple industry in the United States, 
not even excepting that of iron and steel, in which there has been phenomenal growth, can 
show a record of equal expansion. In 1S90 the production of cement in that country was 
335,50° barrels, in 1899 it was 5,652,2 66 barrels, and in 1900, 8,482,020 barrels. To 
supply the demand in the last-named year there were also imported into the States, mainly 
from Germany, Belgium and England, 2,836,683 barrels, a quantity equal to the entire 
native production in 1897. From 1890 to 1900 the average rate of increase from year to year 
in the manufacture of cement in the United States was 40 per cent., and the output of 1901 
will show no diminution in the ratio of growth. 
The chief centres of cement manufacture on the other side are Pennsylvania and New 
Jersey, which together contributed about five-sevenths of the aggregate production in 1900, 
but rapid strides are being made by Illinois and Michigan, In the latter State, indeed, there 
has been a veritable cement “boom.” Nine factories are operated and five more were under 
construction in 1900, while an almost countless number were being projected. Marl is 
abundant everywhere, and nearly every lake and marsh in the State are underlain by it. 
Competition with cements imported from the United States is complained of by some of 
the Canadian manufacturers, who slate also that this had the effect of curtailing last year's 
output of the native article. The immense strides which the industry has made on the other 
side of the line have probably, in a measure at least, overtaken the demand and produced a 
surplus for which a market is now being sought in foreign countries. Trade statistics do not 
bear out the impression that the Canadian market is fully supplied by home-made cement ; 
indeed, they show conclusively that such is not the case. For instance, while the imports 
of cement into Canada for the twelve months ending 30th June, 1900, amounted to 
1,312,170 cvvt., worth $520,593, exclusive of duty, $151,075, for the twelve months ending 
30th June, 1901, they rose to 1,614,666 cwt., worth $675,768, or adding $183,198 duty, to 
$858,966. The countries from which the imports were made, were : — 
Great Britain 
* • • 
$230,584 
United States 
• * • 
228, S45 
Belgium 
* . 1 
142,936 
France 
• • ». 
2,787 
Germany 
• * « 
70,170 
Other Countries . 
• * * 
446 
Total . 
* 
$675,768 
During the preceding twelve months the United States exported to Canada 55,569 barrels 
only, so that a very considerable increase took place in the importations from that country. 
Subsequent statistics show that supplies of cement are now coming into Canada from the 
United States at a highly accelerated rate. For the seven months ending 31st January, 1902, 
the total import of cement amounted to $610,041, of which the United States furnished 
no less than $501,014, thus leaving Great Britain, Germany and Belgium far in the rear. 
So long as the requirements of Canada are not met by the products of her own factories, 
so long is there a possibility of increased sales for Canadian makers, and the reduction in 
price, while far from being an agreeable feature, may, in the natural order of things, be 
expected to lead to greater consumption. It will be the part of wisdom for those interested 
in or proposing to become interested in the manufacture of cement in Ontario to study well 
the conditions which prevail at home and abroad, with the view of avoiding over-production 
and its consequent demoralization of markets and values. 
In a recent official review of the cement industry of the United States, Mr. Spencer B. 
Newberry, after referring to the remarkable expansion of cement-making in that country 
during the past few years, utters the following warning : — 
“It is to be feared, however, that factories are being established and extended with 
little consideration of the probable future condition of the market. For ten years each year 
has witnessed an increased consumption of Portland cement almost exactly equal to the 
increased output of our factories. It is hardly to be expected that this advance in demand 
can continue as in the past at constantly increasing speed. The least check in the extension 
of the applications of cement, or a year in which the amount used is only equal to that of 
the previous year, will bring about a sudden and immense over-production, with great 
disaster to the smaller and less favourably situated manufacturers. Whether this will 
take place next year or the year following can only be conjectured ; it is certain, however, 
that the day of keen competition among American producers is not far distant.” 
The Bureau Report says that “ when the day arrives of which Mr. Newberry speaks, not 
the least to feel the effects will be the manufacturers of Ontario, whose market is close 
to the great cement plants of the United States, and who may have to meet prices on a 
lower plane that any they have yet seen. But there is no reason why, with the advantages of 
modern plants, cheapness of raw material and lighter freights in their favour, not to mention 
a tariff duty of 12^ cents per 100 pounds, the skilled business men who own and manage 
the cement works of Ontario, should not find themselves as well equipped for a period of 
over-production and reduced profits, should such a period come, as their competitors in the 
United States.” 

MINERAL PRODUCTION IN INDIA. 
The following is a summary of the statistics of mineral production in India in the ten 
years 1892 to 1901, compiled under the supervision of the Director General of Statistics, 
Mr. J. E. O’Conor : — 
Salt. — The production of salt in India averages about a million tons annually, 
fluctuating from time to time with the seasons. Last year the production was 1,190,000 tons. 
In 1900 the production at the Sambhar Lake was extremely small, but with a better season 
manufacture in 1901 was very active. The largest proportion of the salt produced in India 
is, however, sea salt made on the coast, in Sind, Bombay, Madras, Burma, and at Aden. 
The quantity so made on the Indian coasts in 1901 represented two-thirds of the whole 
production. 
Coal. — This industry is expanding so rapidly from year to year that a statement of the 
average production over a series of years would not convey a true idea of the conditions. 
The output has increased from 3,540,000 tons in 1S95 to 6,636,000 tons in 1901. Coal is 
found of varying quality over a very extensive area of the Indian region. At present the 
principal mines are located in the Raniganj district in Bengal, at Singareni in the Nizam’s 
territory, at the Lakhimpur district in Upper Assam, at Mohpani and Warora in the Central 
Provinces, and at U maria in tire Central Indian Agency. 
Indian coal is now extensively, in some places exclusively, employed for the railways, 
coasting and river steamers, mills and factories; but, as in the case of salt, the conditions of 
transport are not yet sufficiently developed, though they are being greatly improved, to 
permit of the exclusive use of Indian coal for industrial purposes. The quantity of Indian 
coal used in India is therefore supplemented by an importation which has averaged 
280,000 tons annually in the last five years. Imported coal is mostly landed in Bombay, 
the mills in that place requiring large quantities of fuel and being too remote from the Indian 
sources of supply to find the use of Indian coal economical, having regard to the easy 
conditions on which steamers carry coal to India as freight. Most of the imported coal is 
English, a small quantity being received also from Japan. 
Gold. — G old is produced mostly in the mines of the Kolar district in Mysore, where 
the annual output now exceeds half-a-million ounces. From the mines in the Nizam’s 
territory only a small quantity has been extracted as yet. No account is taken in these 
tables of the gold produced in parts of Northern India from the washings of river sands; it 
is well known that it is entirely insignificant, but there are no means of stating the quantity 
statistically. 
The aggregate reported production is 531,766 ounces, the value of whUh may be taken 
to represent, at £4 an ounce, about two millions sterling. It is all shipped to London. 
Petroleum. — The production, which is confined to Burma and Assam, amounted to 
50 million gallons in 1901, more than 49 million gallons being of Burman production. 
Although the production has expanded very largely, it is still insufficient for the requirements 
of the Indian market, which are met by the importation of some 81 million gallons from the 
United States and Russia. The exports of Burma petroleum last year were : — 
To foreign countries ..... 355—41 gallons 
,, Indian ports 18,688,009 ,, 
1 1 should be borne in mind, however, that the Indian production is stated in terms of 
crude petroleum, while the imports consist of kerosene and lubricating oil. 
Saltpetre. — This article, which is largely produced for export, was in former years of 
much greater importance than now, the decline in demand for gunpowder and the preservation 
of food, with the competition of the nitrates, having operated to prevent an expansion of the 
exports. It is most largely produced in Bihar, whence the article is sent to Calcutta for 
export after refinement. The average production is stated to amount to only about 
251,000 cwt., of which 209,000 cwt. are reported to have been made in Bengal — that is, in 
Bihar. But the production is grossly understated, for the average annual exports of refined 
saltpetre from Calcutta in the last five years have amounted to 370,398 cwt., and this 
represents a much larger quantity of crude saltpetre. 
Iron", — T he production of iron is as yet quite in its infancy, the ore being worked for 
the most part only in the Raniganj district of Bengal, where it occurs in close proximity to 
the coalfields. According to the figures which, however, are of doubtful accuracy, the 
production in 1900 amounted to only 63,000 tons, of which 57,000 tons were produced in 
Raniganj. For the adequate utilization of the iron ores of Bengal and other parts of India 
the application of very large capital is necessary for the manufacture of wrought iron and 
steel in the forms in which these metals are mainly used in India, and the prospects of such 
an enterprise have not hitherto seemed sufficiently decided to induce capitalists to venture 
on the sinking of the great sums of money required for work on the extensive scale which 
alone would be remunerative. 
Graphite (Plumbago). — In the State of Travancore there are four mines from which 
graphite was extracted in 1901-02 to the amount of 2,490 tons. No information has been 
given of the quality of }he graphite. It is doubtless exported, but no particulars of the trade 
have been furnished, nor are the capabilities of the mines known. 
Other Minerals. — These are relatively of small economic importance, manganese ore, 
mica, and tin ore alone being of commercial importance. The production of manganese 
commenced a few years ago, the product being shipped to England. It is all exported, but 
it does not seem to be a quickly expanding trade ; the exports last year were 133,170 tons. 
The extraction of mica has been an industry in Bengal fora considerable period, and recently 
this mineral has been worked in Madras in some quantity. This is also mainly exported, 
the exports last year being 815 tons. Tin-mining has been carried on for many years by 
Chinese in Lower Burma, but their operations have not indicated any tendency to expand, 
and the trade is trifling. It is practically all used in India. 
The following table shows the quantity and value of the principal minerals produced in 
India in the year 1901, as compared with the figures for the preceding year : — 
Quantity 
Value. 
1900. 
1 got. 
igOO. 
1901. 
Sul t • f « ♦ * * * « • 
... Tons 
1,005,022 
1,102,546 
Rs. 
45 , 78,295 
Rs. 
56,22,728 
Coal 
... 9 9 
6, 1 18,692 
6 , 635 > 727 . 
2,01,46,222 
2,83,77,063 
1,98,50,582 
2,89,61,061 
Gold 
... Ozs. 
513,266 
53 L 766 
Petroleum ... 
... Galls. 
37,729,211 
50,075,117 
22,31, 323 
30,65,131 
Manganese ore 
... Tons 
130,670* 
133,170* 
12,51,639* 
14 , 37 , 858 * 
Mica 
... 99 
435 -i 
1,138 
4,17,212 
9 , 95,892 
Pin ore 
... 99 
104 
70 
1,28,009 
1 , 16,595 
* Exports from India In the financial year ended 31st March, the figures of production not being available. 
■ 
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE SEYCHELLES ISLANDS. 
In the latest report of the Administrator of the Seychelles Islands, a carefully prepared 
and interesting account by Mr. R. Dupont, the Curator of the Botanic Station, is given of 
the work of the station during the past year and the agricultural capabilities of these islands. 
Mr. Dupont says : — 
“ With regard to the manuring of the soil, it is very fortunate that, in a granitic country 
like Seychelles, guano deposits are found in many of its islands. This guano constitutes at 
the same time a mineral wealth of the colony. The deposits are almost invariably ancient, 
and guano beds are in process of formation only in distant islands where immense flocks of 
birds are still to be found. On many islands the guano is found in dusty layers on the 
surface of the soil. This surface guano is dark in colour, especially when it is moist. 
There are numerous tints which vary between yellowish brown and reddish black. The 
lighter-coloured guanos are richer in phosphoric acid, and the dark ones are full of organic 
matters which increase the percentage of nitrogen. All this surface guano is now more or 
less mixed with vegetable decay. 
“ Under the action of rain, and in presence of the carbonic acid of the atmosphere, 
the phosphates of lime are dissolved and sink through into the soil, displacing the carbonates 
of lime where the island is madreporic, thus forming a second layer of mineral guano, which 
is generally lighter in colour, and the richness of which in phosphoric acid reaches, and even 
exceeds, that of the surface guano. Where the island is granitic, and more clay is mixed 
with the guano deposits, the phosphates of lime in a soluble state take the place of the 
silicate of alumina, and a phosphate of alumina is formed. Sometimes the transformation of 
phosphate of lime into phosphate of alumina is complete, and no molecule of phosphate of 
lime remains undecomposed. 
“Even the granite rocks which are found in the sub-soils of some islands are attacked 
by the solution of phosphate of lime ; and when the surface of these rocks is analysed to an 
inch or more in depth it is found that all the phosphate of lime has penetrated and 
