199 



many cases where attempts have been made to keep the land per- 

 fectly clean and where the highest perfection used to be the ab- 

 sence of every weed ; but in most cases I think that has been found 

 to be most disastrous ; the soil bakes hard and then a system of 

 forking has to be resorted to. 



ARTIFICIAL DRYING OF COCOA. 



The desirability of drying cocoa by artificial heat, thereby 

 rendering the planter more or less independent of atmospheric 

 conditions, has long been realised in the West Indies. During 

 wet seasons and in certain elevated districts of some of the cocoa- 

 producing islands considerable loss is frequently occasioned by 

 ' mildew.' 



Mr. G. Whitfield Smith, then Travelling Superintendent of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, gave a brief sketch in the 

 West Indian Biillitin (Vol. II, pp. 1 71-4) of the efforts that had been 

 made in Grenada to dry cocoa by artificial heat, and gave, also 

 a description of a cocoa drier since erected by the Department at 

 the Botanic Station, Dominica. A further description of this drier 

 will be found in the Agricultural News (Vol. I, p. 19) where it is 

 stated : — 



'The essential feature of this drier is the arrangement by which 

 the hot air, on entering the drying box, is conducted along an air- 

 tight flue or channel, and is compelled to pass over and around the 

 trays in succession, beginning with the lowest. In this respect it is 

 a great improvement on driers of a similar pattern used in Grenada 

 and elsewhere, which have no interior divisions. In such driers it 

 is found that the hot air on entering the single drying chamber 

 naturally rises to the top, with the result that the beans on the 

 upper tray were too quickly dried, while those on the lower tiers 

 were only partially dried or, in some cases, remained moist. 



'The drier above described is capable of dealing with 5 bags 

 of cocoa at a time, and its original cost, including shed, stove, and 

 fan, was £127. Where, however, the planter is able to utilize a 

 spare building in which to place the drying box and stove, the 

 cost might be reduced by about one half, 



' For the information of those desirous of erecting a similar 

 drier, it may be mentioned that the fan (18 inches) with belt and 

 driving wheel might be obtained from the Blackman Ventilating 

 Company, Limited, Head Office, 63 Fore Street, London E.C., at a 

 cost of £9 6s., and the stove (Motts' Comet No. 28) from the I. L. 

 Mott Iron Works, New York and Chicago, at a cost of £lO 17s. 3d. 

 The latter is surrounded by a galvanized iron jacket to confine 

 the hot air and to discharge it through the cowl into the drying 

 box. The fuel may be wood, coke, or coal, as found most con- 

 venient,' 



Subsequent trials have shown that cocoa can be dried within 

 twenty-four hours of being placed in the drier without the fan be- 

 ing worked after 9 o'clock at night. The best results were obtained 

 by maintaining a temperature of 110° to I20°F., with a good 

 draught passing over the beans. Similar driers have been erected 



