CEYLON CUSTOMS MALE. 415 the products of the coconut palm will more than compensate. Tea exports reached 13,834,000 lb. last year, of which 2 lb. went to Salonica! China will yet be ranked with Australia amongst our customers. The export of tea very nearly doubled in 1887 as compared with 18813, and the process is likely to be repeated in 1888. But say that we export only 21 millions of pounds. If the valuation remains at 60 cents per lb., the total sum in the accounts for tea will be R14,100,000. Even should the .local value be reduced to 55 cents, tea will still rank first in our exports, unless the values of products of the palm tree are aggregated. —It is not tea alone or the accompanying new products," cinchona, cacao and cardamoms, which mark a revolution in the export trade of Ceylon. Who, ten years ago, would have seriously anticipated that the value of Ceylon produce exported would have been appreciably swelled by such an item as Nuwara Eliya brewed beer I The lesson taught us is, that, while taking a properly sober view of our resources, we should not unduly under-estimate those which are still undeveloped,—or the possibilities of our future.* The history of the rise and decadence of coffee and the replacing of the refreshing berry by the fragrant leaf in Ceylon will, we repeat, rank high in the chapter on the romance of commerce. Let us hope that " decadence " may never be written in association with tea. It is not merely the trade of Ceylon, but the navigation which the great harbour at Colombo has attracted, that is furthering the prosperity of this— in a geographical sense —Britain of the east. The increase in tonnage inwards since 1885 has been from 1,823,000 to 2,071,000, an increase of 218,C00 tons in two years. A considerable number of steamers called at Colombo and some at Gable mainly to coal, a branch of our trade which is likely to go on increasing. If the imports of coals have not increased in proportion to the increased resort of steamers, readers will not, of course, forget, that, by means of double and triple expansion engines and other improvements in recently built mail and merchant steamers, one ton of coal now performs the duty for which two perhaps were necessary about a decade back. It is not the port and town of Colombo and the immediate neighbourhood, be it noted, which exclusively benefit by the greatly increased resort of mail, mercantile and calling steamers to the grand harbour. The benefits extend to all interests in the colony. Mail steamers and steamers which call mainly to coal, and which, in the latter case, are glad of a little cargo to drop here or carry away, are all competing for the freight we have to offer, As a result, not only the tea, cinchona, cacao, and other products of the European capitalists, but such absolutely native or largely native products as are yielded by the coconut and areka palms, the cinnamon shrub, the lemon grass and the plumbago mince are carried to the ports of sale at rates the lewest which can be possibly remunerative to the owners of the vast fleets, which, by their resort to our harbour, have rendered Colombo one of the leading emporia of trade and navigation in the world, as it is the capital of a colony which will soon again rank as beyond compare the most flourishing of the dependencies directly governed by the Crown and worthy of comparison with those founded and ruled by men of European race.
" CU11108ITIE8 OF THE CEYLON CUSTOMSJ" (www.historyofceylontea.com)OUR IMPORT AND EXPORT TRADE FOR 1887. Grimly dry and forbidding as the fifty-eight tabular pages of closely printed figures look in which the Collector of Customs embodies the Statistics of the Import and Export Trade of Ceylon for 1887, there are yet a great itiikuy facts interesting to all classes of the community to be picked up among them, if only the returns are carefully examined. We propose to run over some of the composra*ivoly minor headings in these annual returns, and to select for the edification of our readers figures which may he considered to represent more or less "Curiosities of the Customs." And first we have the FOOD RE- fr361TEA introduced—apart from the enormous grain importation, in value amount. ing to over twenty-one and a•balf millions of rupees in 1887 (with which we shall de ti separately). let us take LIVE SToox first, and see how, in respect of a supply of beef, mutton, and poultry, the Sinhalese, Tamils, and even Eurasians and Europeans have plenty of scope for supplying a local market anal saving money • In geld, for instance, if capital and enterprise are applied to the deep mining of our auriferous quartz. Our Government ought ti indent on Australia for the use of a diamond drill with the services of a mining expert, to search for gold and also new plutobago deposits. fi See fill-sheet rages 414a-6 and far compari,laa ,7I .sheet pages 430a.1+;
416 CURIOSITIES OF THE CtYLON CUSTOMS.
now sent to India. Premia'ng that some of the imported cattle-not so ninny one woald think in these days -are used for transport purposes, the Import in 1897 was an enormous one at least for oxen, exc eding that of the previous year in value by nearly R55,000, and being as follows :-- Oxen and Bulls ...... No. 5,618 valued at 8211,809 Cows . 38 11 Calves ...... „ 12 11 Sheep and Lambs ... - ... .,. 49,247 Yr Poultry ... ... 108 packages and 2,290 doz. „ Total...11240311:2,L241
[Curieuely enough 2,139 oxen and bulls were sent frow Ceylon to India in 1887, be n4 valued at 1111,325 • while 4 were shipped to the 1-':tritits Settlements and wae valued at R250. ' These latter were probably for breeding purposes]. . Of other FOOD RBQ UISITES from Europe as well as India, we imported in 1887, quantity and value, as follows :- Butter (7 owt. from Australia) ... 337 cwt. value 1139,057 Cheese (10 cwt. from Australia) ... 417 „ „ 29,239 Ham and Bacon (7 cwt. from Australia) 737 ,, ,, 51,657 Beef and Perk salted (3 cwt. from Australia) 210 „ „ 0,469 Biscuits ... ... 753 packages and 13 cwt. value R63,515 Confectionery and Preserves (nearly all from ludia)... 1,191 . packages and 2,979 „ „ 50,757 Oilmanstores ... ... ... 8,688 packages 202,868 Provisions " 2,154 packages, 234 bushels, and 635 cwt. lahle 19,563 Carry Stuffs (from India) 15 packages and 89,937 .,,, 6381:756402 Arrowroot ... ... ••• .77 pkgs. Sago (Straits chiefly) 11 packages and 2,462 cwt. Fish dried and salted (two-thirds from India, one-third from the Maldives) 146,450 „ 1,4;03641,18380:5i Ghee (India almost entirely) ... 916 „ 50,802 Flour (India almost entirely) ... 40,075 „ Onions (India) ...... 67,926 „ 203,780 Potatoes (chiefly from India) .... 18,945 „ 142,090 Groundnuts (from India) 3,358 bushels and 737 „ A good deal of the money (1139,000 per annum) spent un butter594 ought to be saved now that the railway can carry it so quickly from the hills ; also the one and ahalf million rupees Bent to India for selt•tish should be greatly reduced by the establishment of the local industry in fish-curing had it only succeeded. Why also cannot Ceylon find her own " curry-stuffs" ? Onions and potatoes ought clearly to be more freely produced in this island, and the opening by the Nauuoya railway of the onuntry around Nit ware, Ehiya and on to Kandapola and Wilson's Bungalow should make a difference in the supply of all vegetables now imported for the use of consumers chiefly in Colombo. It is rather surprising to see that there is greater value (11203,780) of onions than of potatoes (11142,090) imported; but in each case there is surely room for and eiwouragement to the market gardener. Strange that Ceylon should import arecanuts, but so it is, and this to the amount of nearly 1110,000 from India. Coconuts also ti4nre for R7,565 from the Maldives, an 1 pepper flew Iudia for R19,477. But even more astonishing are some of the next series of imports we compile from these official accounts :- Ingn».led in 1887. TEA (from Straiis,.India and Hongkong) 1,110 Ile. ... 112,789 C‘tri..88 (from Straits and India) 32 pekgs. and 6,835 cwt. ... 89,259 Ctitihtmotis (from India)... 5 packages and 3;18 lb. ... 2,011 PM.' IT UI i pretlerVecl ( India and Australia) 320 pkgs. .. 2,958 Sue 405 ewt. ... 10,138 Sotc (from India) ... 1,257 packages and 5,267 „ ... 97,605 buchtu: candy and refined ...... 16 855 n ... 505,668 ,.. i ) unreffied ... ... ..• • • • 111,016 o 294,152 „ palm and jac,mery ...... 5, 576 ,, ... 27, 881 TOBACCO: cigars ... .•. ... ... 201341, lb. ... 300,621 „ 27 „ - 409 manufactured ...... 98,1e0 i. - 78,894 11 ,„ is utunalittlsetured and hookah ... 95 6110 ,, 29,983 Total „.111,151,388
CURIOSITIES OF TEE CEYLON CUSTOMS 411
ilt. total value of this series is considerable, and there is surely room HI. 'ouch of it to be saved. As closely allied with cigars, we may mention an ilajunt of matches equal to 1154,273 in value., so that altogether sonic R473,000 per annum goes in smoke ! We trust this is the last time we shall have to record an import of tea beyond a very fewpounds for samples. The decrease since 1879, when 78,000 lb. were imported, is satisfactory : brit now we can 'sedan local requirements with a better article than any that can be imported. Oar import of coffee has more than doubled in value what it was last p a-, but we trust this state of things will not continue. It is not right that we should import so much soap (with a good article capable of being manufactured locally, nor is there any necessity for imports of salt, fruit unpreserved, cardamoms, or even tobacco, and certainly not of palm sugar and jaggery. At the same time we are pleased to notice that Ceylon exported " jaggery'' last yyearear to India to t he value of 1123,910. If Ceylon only grew sugar enough for consumption, more than R800,000 per annum might be saved to the Colony ; and so with tobacco, for there is a demand not yet locally met exceeding in value R418,000 per annum. Apart from the large importation of Cotton and Woollen Goods exceeding lt5,055,500 in value in 1887, we have the following imports bearing on clothing, dress and personal adornment :— Wearing apparel ... ... ,,, .,. ... ... 1177,91)1 Boots and shoes ... ... ... ... 20,935 Haberdashery and millinery ... ... 810,117 Eats, caps, bonnets, &e. ... 41. 08,821 Silks 111 188,894 Perfumery „. „, ,.. .., 49,475 Jewellery ••• ••1 ••• ••• 77,342 Pearls and precious stems Onset) 137,184 H osiery ...... 17,798 Blacking ••• ... ,„ 2,438 Total .., R1,468,995 ::u that there is room for the people of Ceylon to spend a good deal more en wearing apparel and ornament. In another direction we have an outlay, part of which might well be saved through local enterprize :- Carts and Carriages ... ••• 406 Pe, R10,882 Furniture ••• • 1 • ••• 44,375 Glass and Glassware ... 106,150 Saddlery and Harness .. ,...... 227124337 fildns of sorts...... Umbrellas (chiefly from Europe and India) ... 124,474 Beeswax ••• •I• ••• ••• ••• ••• 270 Brushes ... .. . 5,253 Painters' Materials .„ ... . 76,077 still more curious is it to find Ceylon importing last year:— Bricks and Tiles valued at ... ..• •.• ••• ••• ••• 8,745 Boats and Canoes .„ •., 3,898 Casks, Shooks and Staves ••• 427,880 .., Coir Stuffs .., ,„ ••• ••• ••• ••• 88,577 Earthenware ...... ,.. „, „, „. ,.. 190,365 which all (but a few thousand rupees) ought surely to be saved to the island ; and yet if Mr. Deane's boxes from Japan and others from Europe and America become the fashion with our tea planter a, the chief item in the above list may increase. At the same time last year, we exported to India and Australia " casks and shooks" to the value of R6,178, and "carts and carriages" to Europe, Australia, India and the straits to a value of U5,435. Manures were imported last year as follows :- Bone Manure (from India) ... ••• Ft P12,1126 Castor Seed Poonac (do.) ••• ••• 73,808 Guano... ... ... •.. ••• 12,431 Total .„ 200,165 We may add imports more or less allied as follows :- Lime and clay Coral ;DUO.i [ s ••• ••• ••• . . I • 1 18 3: 71 35 °7 rOallae ( .I.' for feeding cattle) ... ...' 032,400 Seeds; Bird, Castor, Cotton, Mustard, Poppy, and Rape •.. ,.. ... 22, 309 Needs; Gmgelly ,.. . .•. ,.. 1,711; Reeds and Plants .• OOP 162,3e5 53
418 CURIOSITIES OF THE CEYLON CUSTOMS. The total of " manures " proper imported is not much above one-seventh of what it amountt d to eleven years ago. In 1876 the value of " manures " entered was as high as 111,400,000 ! As the harvesting of tea increases and the cultivation is found to be prof' able, we shall find a m w departure in respect of the import trade in manures. Of MACHINERY and METALS the import in 1887 was considerable, largely owing to the revival of the planting industry, through tea requiring special machinery, while something is no doubt due to the work now done in Colombo in repairing and refitting vessels, iu boat-building, &e. Machinery .. . 4" “. ". 401 R535,975 .Nletals wrought and unwrought :- - Brassware ...... 20,602 Copperware ...... 24,860 Hardware and Cutlery ... 281,070 Leadware ... .., „, 6,563 Plate and Platedware ...... 21,509 Tinware ... 8,152 Zineware ...... 13,010 , Brass, Sheet and Nails ... ,.. .,. 39,093 Copper Sheathing ... • ...... 14,477 Iron, Angle and Swedish Bar, Flat, and 91,045 Iron, Galvanised and Hoop ... 231,176 Iron, Nails, &c...... , 82,870 Iron, Pig ... ••• .,. -. 9,000 iron, Plato and Sheet ... 10,169 Lead, Sheet, Pipe and Pig 5,320 Spelter, Tin, &c...... 1,8411 Steel .•. 12,565 Tin Plates and Zinc ... 1,756 Tanks, iron .., ". ••• 6,256 Quicksilver ... ••• 938 Tea Lead .,. -• ••• ••• 131,398 Total... 111,551,733 Against this, we may place Machinery exported from Ceylon of local manufacture valued at R4,400 and re-exported R32,416 : about 81,800 worth of the machinery made here was sent to British India, and some 1■900 to Netherlands India, being no doubt coffee preparing machinery from the Colombo Ironworks. A certain proportion of the metals in the above list (value 819,979) was re-exported to India, Australia, the Maldives, &e, Government Stores, unspecified, were imported to the value of 11803,140; The taste for LITERATURE, ART, and all that is included in the stock of publisher, bookseller, stationer and printer, slowly bat surely increases in Ceylon, the imports for last year being :- Books and Maps printed ...... R70,068 Paper and Stationery, Drawings, Cards, &c.... 209,271 Prints and Pictures .,. ... .,. .,, 6102 Printing Materials ...... ,.. ...2:75 168 Total... 11293,784 Instruments : musical, optical, schen ilk', and surgical 1137,739 Mere satisfactory are these headings, in reference to the progress of the people, than are those we have next to append showing the importation of MALT LIQUOR, WINES, SPIRITS and ()mem, which in 1887 were represented as follows :- Malt liquor in bottle ...... 11203,991 ? 105,009 ; R300,963 17 71. in wood Spirits : (Biirannt.ly: ,.. ... 66,991-1 , P IP Liqueurs ...... ji):7;g3 433,444 Rum ...... 700 Whiskey ...... 961,314 Wines : Australian ...... ,.. 1695:73 2 84 1 .1 French and claret...... 51 Getman, Hungariau and Rhenish 5,305 j 11 Spamish ...... 10,910 - 298,317 ...... ,.. 31 l'Ort 40,015 1 o Ginger, Madeira, Marsala, Italian 10,541 I P. Sparkling...... 48,528 J (Carry up.)
CURIOSITIES OF THE CEYLON CUSTOMS. 419
(Continued..) Hops 15,765 Cider 200 Opium 9,146 lb. valued at 99,764 Grand Total 81,1117,513 in the face of this array of figures it ought to be satisfactory news io Our total abstinence' friends to learn that every item, save whiskey, shews a considerable decrease not only on recent but on earlier years. So far back as 1860 the import of malt liquor equalled 11325,000 ; in 1870 it was R582,000; in 1874, R560,000 ; in 1878, .1i325,000 : so that the year 1887 showed a falling. off of about 37 per cent. on the average of I the ten years 1870-80. Very marked too is the decrease iu brandy and gin, which in 1878 figured for 12551,000 against R167,490 last year ; whiskey on the other hand (the "poor man's drink " of Mr. G. A. Talbot) has considerably increased ; but it is strange that among spirit drinkers, so largely composed of Scotchmen, brandy and gin should still be so freely consumed in preference to the "not oval beverage." "Gentlemen," we on one occasion heard Professor Sir Robert Christison say to his medical students' class in Edinburgh C'uiversity, thdre is no doubt that pure French brandy is the best spirit to prescribe when the necessity arises in the course of your practice, but inasmuch as French brandy is almost invariably adulterated, while Scotch whiskey seldom or never is,' I—as the result of my long experience (this was his 110th annual lecture on wines and spirits)--advise you as a rule to make nee of whiikey in your medical prescriptions." Whether the brandy and gin consumed in Ceylon is less adulterated than that current in the Unit.ti Kingdom is the question which consumers ought to ask themselves, fur it is evident that since 1870 imported spirits have been in considerable demand, while the import of malt liquor has decrease I nearly one h ilf, and the con-tump. tion of light French wines has fallen very considerably as may be seen on reference to one flysheet, 4280.* There is nothing alarming in the figures for opium, seeing that the import was over 8,000 lb. so far back as 1860, and that in 1865 the extraordinary and quite unprecedented import figures of 63,974 lb. valued at R479,800 were recorded. This must have been some cross entry, however, of opium landed to be re-exported to the Straits or Chins. Still it is not pleasant to think of 9,976 lb. of opium being consumed in Ceylon in 1887 ; are the Customs valuation and tax (RIO and RI per lb. respectively) high enough we would ask ? This duty ought to have been increased with that on spirits one would think. As connected with the liquor trade we may mention that R10,072 of corks were imported iu 1887. MEDICINES in 1887 were importod to the value of R163,090, of which R52,186 came from India. Irrespective of this we imported Cinchona from India to the value of 112,600. Medicines figured for R170,000 in 1868 and 1874 ; R187,800 in 1870; R110,000 or so in 1860 and 1865; but only 1144,000 in 1850, Still the Colony cannot be accused of an increasing consumption, and if we only get cinchona alkaloid locally extracted and prepared for use in a private laboratory (such as has been recently spoken of) and if ipeoacuanha were cultivated and locally prepared for 118C. the Colony should save considerably on the sums mentioned and have two of the most valuable specifics for tropical diseases freely available. Acids were imported to the value of R7,790, a large proportion of which were used for the manufacture of mineral waters. Of these last, independent of the large quantities taken by the steamers which call here, we exported to India only R423 against 81,380 in 1886. It is somewhat atraugc that in a Colony where so good a means of light as coconut oil is cheap and plentiful, we should import :— Candles, epermaceti. atc. ... 812,431 Oils : Coconut, Colza, Fish, Kerosene, Lubricating and Vegetable ... 571,751 11587,185 Tallow autl grease 2241 — - — - Some years age wo asked :—" Might not the Ceylon Government eupy Mr. Gladstons in one particular ! Let light wines have a very moderate duty placed upon them, and let spirits be heavily taxed. This would lead to an increased con.smnption of the former (to the benefit of the. Government), and at devour* in the use of the latter (to the undoubted benefit. morally and phyaically, of the population of our Island)." We are glad to say this advice was adopted timing the Session of 1.854, when the duty on light wines was 1-ft untouched, while that on spirits was increased. 420 CURIOSITIES O1' THE CEYLON CUSTOMS,
This latter was for lubricating purposes, while linseed and vegetable ode which are not given separately are also turned to account in other ways than in lighting. Candles in 1874 figured for 854,000: eo that kerosene oil is quickly superseding this means of light. For in kerosene oil the increase is enormous, and the consumption goes on to the supercessiou even among natives of the local coconut oil, which the people find it is more profitable to sell for cap ,rt, or rather to dispose of the mite and copperah without tak.ng the trouble to make the nil. The import of kerosene oil was R23,250 in value in 1875 ; 11,135,000 in 1879 ; and 11412,600 last year, one-third from India (re•export or from Burin:di) and two-thirds from the United States, We now come to a series of articles which may fairly be deemed Leximies, Ana we venture to classify a rather incongruous variety under this head ;- Jewellery (chiefly from Europe and India) ... R77,3-12 Pearls and precious stones unset (chiefly from India) 137,184 Fancy articles ... ... ... 74,891 Images and statuettes ... ... ... 2,684 Clocks and watches ... •• • Perfumery ... ••• ... ... 34k1g Toys ... ..... ... 11:411095 Beads (chiefly from Europe and India) ... Crackers (Hongkong, Straits and India) ... 86,633 Total R437,258 The enormous increase in the last item (it was R17,200 in 1886) is no doubt due to the celebration of our Queen's Jubilee last year, and affords a clutrau• teristio indication of the loyalty of the inhabitants of Ceylon. We must mention, however, an export of "jewellery" amounting in 1887 to R4,250 of local manufacture, and again an export of "pearls and precious stones" aggregating 1128,690. But, of course, by far the greater portion of the pearls and gems taken away hem] the island, on the pereons of natives and iu the luggage of other passengers, are not entered at the Customs. We are dependent on Calcutta for a considerable supply of her jute products in the shape of "gunnies," bags for shipping "native" and low•claes plantstion coffee, and for packing cinnamon, as well us of (may sacks for plantation use, We give these and minor imports more or less allied ;- Gunnies R148,264 Twine 24,362 Fishermen's nets 4,853 11177,479 Brushes ... 5,299 The first three items practically all come India, and the figures indicate a large inereaie or 1 eviral of trade which had fallen off owing to short coffee crops. Gunnies and twine were imported in 1874 to the value of R122,207; in 1882 they were only R93,000 in value ; while in 1887 the value was R172,628, all of which was entered for home consumption. On the other hand, in a country so rich in fibres as is Ceylon, it seems bard that local manufactures should not supply all our requirements. But curiously enough, we find "gunnies and twines" R231,238 entered in our exports for last year, and nearly all to British India ! The explanation given to us is that these are packages of second•hand rice gunnies received from Bengal, sent to Southern India to oarry more rice across to Ceylon ! Among other minor imports, the subject of cross-entries, if we may "so say, which seem superfluous for a community such as ours, are the following :- Articles—jran Imports. Exports. To R. R. Mate, Bags, le Baskets ( from India) 14,425 1,420 (U. K. India and Australia) Oreliella weed *(lndia ) ... 12,546 23,827 (U. K. and Belgium) Tortoiseshell (Maldives, Straits & India) 28,534 215 (U. K.) Horns of sorts (India) ... ... 2,553 65,480 (do) *Orehilla weed, orchella, orchal, or Braila (Ger. oraeille ; Fr. oraeille ; Ital. oricello, orcella ; Span. orchillai. A whitish lichen (" Lichen orcella"), found in the Isle of Portland, but that which is used is imported from the Canary and Cape de Verde Islands, Madeira, Barbary and the Levant. From it is obtained the archil, or orehal, of commerce, which yields a rich purple tincture, fugitive, indeed, but extremely beautiful. The preparation of orchids was lung a secret, known only to the Florentines and Iinllanders ; but it is now extensively manufactured in this country. On but is generall y =o'.1 in Lim or inks, but wino-Smog in that of moist pulp; it is extensively used by dyers, and.. in times of scarcity the weed or lichen has said ns high as R1,000 per ton.-21fartVlach. [Mr. Vincent in his Forest Report sari orebella weed is a lichen ("Roccella Montagnei") common on trees in stunted resat forest of dry zone, and is used for making litmus paper and for dyeing.]
CURIOSITIES OF THE CEYLON CUSTOMS. 421
Articles-front Imports. Export*. To R R Skins of sorts (India & U. K.) ... 18,537 288,423* (U.K., India, Hamburg, ate.) Fullers' earth (India) ...... 21,029 - Bees-wax (U. K.,. India and Australia) 270 8,536 (U. K., India, Straits, (Cm) Felt (from U. Kingdom) ...... 3,893 - Rattan (India and Straits) ... 1,981 204 (India) Umbrellas(to U. K., China, IntlTii and Straits) ...... 124,473 -793 (India and Straits) Cowries & S hells (Maldives) ... 7,550 9,688 (India) Ivory (from U. K.) ...... - 1,867 Terra japonica or °mat (India) ... 35,558 530 (Maldives) Arrowroot (U. K.) ...... 1,716 100 (India) Mee (India) ...... 50,808 2,744 (to 'India and Maldives) Sago (India & Straits) ...... 81,188 552 (Maldives) salt (U. K. & India) ...... 10,138 1,018 (to India) Drummer* ...... 1,498 1,358 (India and U. K.) Pitch, Resin & Tar (U. K. and India) ... - - 3,849 451 (India and Maldives) Boats and Canoes (India) ... 3,898 65 (India) Bricks and Tiles (French & B. India & U. K.) ... ... 8,745 2,412 (India) Asphalte - ...907 - Stones, Building (U. K. and India) 11,736 3,378 (India) Olas (India) ...... 168 - The figures surely euggest in some cases openings for the extending of local industries to the supersession of imports ; in others, oar imports-of orehella weed and horns-are merely added to local shipments dispatched to Europe. Tortoiseshell is obtained from the Maldives chiefly, and from India and the Straits in almost equal proportions to add to the local supply used up in the manufacture of the combs of the Sinhalese and in uther articles of ornamimt. The importation of tortoiseshell, which had decreased from 1165,000 in 1860 and R67,000 in 1874 to R25,000 in 1878 and R32,000 in 1882, stood in 1887 at R28,584. We fe kr the article is getting scarcer or the demand slackening. Our export of hides and skins is chiefly to the United Kingdom, but a consi• derable quantity goes to India. where, we suppose, tanning has been more reduced to a business ; but with abnndanoe of material locally the course of this trade might be altered. We find that tanner's bark was exported in 1887 to the value of R1,195 to India. The import of fuller's earth from India is still very considerable : B24,481 in 1886 and R21,029 on value in 1887, and that may indicate an increased local manufacture of soap. The importation of this latter article however does not decrease, while the export last year equalled R6,655, manufactured in the colony. But strangely enough while we sent R62 worth of soap to India in 1887, we imported from the same country R50,406 of the same article I besides R31,200 from the United Kingdom. This is one of the anomalies of trade that ' no fellah' can understand. Our progress in the use (and local manufacture) of the great agency of cleanliness may be summed up as follows:- SOAP ;-Imported 1850=88,860 ; 1850 =- R20,230 • 1870=1150,430: 1875 = R85,570 ; 1880=1158, 460 ; 1884= R66, 392 ; 1886-R80,640 ; 1887 ----R97, 605. Now for the export of local manufacture, beginning with 1865=R7,500 ; 187116,857 ; 1875=R10,592; 1880=825,791 ; 1885=840,005 ; 1886=16,173 ; 1887=R6,655. * Hides and Skins. t Catmint (kate-shoo). n. [Cf. Cashoo.] (hem) A dry, brown, astringent extract, obtained by decoction and evaporation from the Acacia coedits, in India. It contains a large portion of tannin or tannic acid, and is used both in medicine and in the arts. It is also known by the names Terra Japonica, Crack, Ca, ib r,8ce.-.11facCulinch. # flamer: A kind of indurated niteli or turpentine, Pawl-rig spontaneously from various trees iudigenons to most of the Indian islands. Different trees produce different species of resin which tun deoiguated according to their colour and consistence. One is called Lamar-Gala in Malay, or Doniar-solo iu Jaynn..s.,, which means hard or stony resin ; and another in common use, Danzar-Patekor white resin, which in softer. T119 trees which produce dinner yield it in amazing quantIty, and getier,illy without the necessity of making incisions. It exudes through the bark. and is either f and adhering to the trunk or brandies in large lumps or in masses on the ground under the trees. As them often grow near the sea-side, nr on the kinks of rivers, the is frequently floated tiny y, and collected in ilislant places as drift. IL is exported in large quantities to 'Bengal and u iliac, and is used for the purposes to which we apply pitch, but principally for the bottoms of ships. By previous arrangement almost any quantity may be procured at the low rate of j dollar per picul.-Crawford, East DO. Archip. won, i, p. 4:8; von. ii, p. 4,20. 422 CURIOSITIES OP THE CEYLON CUSTOMS,
While importing R270 worth of bees-wax, we exported R8,536 worth, and curiously enough we export over R1,200 of honey. A little euterprize on the part of our rural Sinhalese and Tamils ought to provide all the bees-wax required for domestic and other purposes. while honey might be much more plentiful in our local market than it is. Terra japonica or Cutch, (eateelle) was in 1874 imported to the value of 844,690, so that this article maintains its position. " Seeds and plants " figure in last year's imports for 8162,388, of which no less than R155.094 was from India (tea seed of course) ; while only R4,455 came from the United Kingdom, 112,023 from Australia, R250 from China, and 1{555 from the Straits. One of the largest importations iii peat years uuder this head took place so far back as 1850. when R24.000 worth of " seeds of sorts" were imported. In 1878 the value equalled 11116,805 ; in 1879 it was RI91,000. On the other hand there was exported last year, "seeds and plants.' to 1 value of R14,1374, besides "specimens illustrative of natural history " lle...-„ and "curiosities," if we may mention all these at the same time, 1118,017. ARMS and AMMUNITION were freely imported in 1867, thus :- Guns, single barrelled ... ... No. 631 =R9,015 , double „ .•• ••• •.• 221 6,600 Pistols, single , ••• ••• .• 16 120 „ double and Revolvers ... 69 ),,035 Rifls, single barelled ... ... 28 4,200 „ double 45 9,000 Cartridges, fuse, locks, caps, shots and 1 wadding... ... ... ... ....I 41,651 Gunpowder ... ... ... .. lb. 34,711 21,54e Blasting powder ... ... ,.. „ 60,01)11 30,00o Dynamite, Detonators, Sic. ... ... ... 26,005 We may add here :- Saltpetre ... ... 17,971 Brimstone ...... 1,624 Coal and coke ...... ... 3,971,542 Cement ...... ... 102,549 Marine Stores ... 22,237 We have heard it remarked that. the natives have of late years been purchasing guns and other fireartns rather too indiscriminately, and that it is probable the checking of the license to possess firearms is not properly attended to by the Police and other Government officials. The great increase in "Coal and Coke" is remarkable : 8288,700 in 1850, 111,473,200 in 1870, 112,205,390 in 1880, 113,924,634 in 1880, and an increase on this large item of nearly 1150,000 in 1887, the cause being, of course, the greatly increasing number of steamers coaling at Colombo. Of the long list of imports, we have now to refer to Ttanxa, or "Wood, as the Customs has it, of which we received in 1887 :- Dye (sandal and other sorts entirely from India) ... R4,407 Timber (nearly all from India, doubtless teak)... 99,406 R103,813 against a total export valued at about R364,938, and made up as follows :- Ebony (chiefly to China & United Kingdom) .., R101,597 Sapan (chiefly to United Kingdom, Trieste and Hamburg) ... ... ... ..• ... 49,326 Satin (to India & U. K.) ... 51,491 Woods of sorts (chiefly to India) 52,936 Halmilla (India) .... ..•... ... 14,787 Ironwood (India) ... ... ... 22,129 Teak, Palmyra, Arecannt, Ritul and other laths and rafters ... ... ... ... 54,778 Dyewood, &c.