Alum

Pei-fan Q H is produced to some extent in Kuangtung and Anhui, but the chief supply comes from P'ing-yang, a few miles south of Wenchou in Chekiang. The aliun is obtained from the Fan Shan in the Sung-yang hills, near the Fukien border, first visited by Gixtzlaff in 1855. "The alum is taken in stone blocks (first split with fire, and then broken with a sledge hammer) from the sandstone in which it lies. It is then boiled and soaked, and carried away in crystals." The annual output is estimated at 200,000 piculs, some of which is used in dyeworks. The quality is said to be very good. Alirni is used in making paper, as a mordant in dyeing, in tanning and in cement for masonry. The demand increased very much in 1916, owing to shortage of dye-stuffs. Export abroad, 1914, 29,970 piculs, value Tls. 60,762; 1915, 43,846 piculs, value Tls. 77,583.