S98 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[FebruaRV 1, 1884. 



and leaa nourishment required for the shell, as it is 

 much leas in weight, I am now carefully collecting 

 and planting all seed of the new variety as advised 

 by "Swaddy," aud trust the trees from this seed 

 will show as good result aa the parent treea. 



7 pods for 1 to cured seed, or say 800 poda for 

 1 cwt.— Yours faithfully, J. HOLLO WAY. 



P.S. — Oan my bees have carried the pollen from 

 the Trinidad to the other trees ? 



MB. WM. CAMERON'S CINCHONA DRIER. 

 Ythanaide, Dimbula, Slat Jan. 1884. 



Dear Sir, — In the Observer of 28th instant, I find 

 a letter criticizing my "Bark Drier," and, as the sub- 

 ject i» important to planters, I offer a few remarks in 

 reply. 



It is not advisable for me to go into argument 

 about drying or heating — the subject is ratber 

 abstruse — and better spend the time in reading some 

 of the many works on Natural Philosophy — now so 

 easily procured — where, under the respective headings, 

 information on the subjects of air, heat, light, &c. 

 may be found iu reliable form. 



1 would not have taken notice of "J. B." 's letter, 

 but for the fact that most of his observations are 

 in themselves true, and therefore, when misapplied, 

 all the more calculated to mislead. He has quite 

 failed to understand the principles of action cm- 

 bodied in my "Drier." This I am not surprized at, 

 aa my description of it was brief, and the plant are 

 too rude to give a complete explanation, nor was 

 such my aim. Enough, if I helped to set others 

 to think on the subject. Now to reply. 



Ist. "J. B." rightly notes the respective heat-conduct- 

 ing powers of iron and clay — to be as 30 to 1. Quite so : 

 I know there is a great difference. It would follow 

 that my heating surface must be 30 times 

 as large .is one with the metal. Granted. The whole 

 area of my drying-houee floor gives out heated air, 

 as against a concentrated blast of hot air in the 

 " Clerihew." 



1 did not " say something about ' iron ' giving out 

 heat by radiation and ' brick ' by conduction." For 

 my plan of equalizing the distribution of heat, brick, 

 in part, is preferable to iron, to give gradual diffusion. 



2nd. With my '* Drier, " it is correct to say that 

 the heat lost is just what ia required for the 

 draught of the flues. All the rest ia abstracted, by 

 the air carried along and over the flues, in ita 

 pasaage into the dryiug-house. The temperature of 

 the discharge at the chimney may be the same as that 

 of the dryiug-house, while in the " Clerihew " it 

 would be the same as that of the last row of pipes 

 heated. In other words ; by my design the loss of the 

 fire heat is at dryinij house temperature, by the 

 " Clerihew" ; the loss o( heat is &\. furnace temperature. 

 " J. B." is quite right about limits of heat ; if 4U0° 

 is required, yon must lose the rest, as in raising 

 steam or (at higher degrees,) melting metals. But I 

 what has this got to do with the " Drier " ? In it, 

 the heat in the furnace may be 400^ and is so, 

 but by diffusion in the air drains, it may be 

 economized for use at 9U°. 



3rd. I don't think I have failed to under- 

 stand the " Clerihew," but in my plan for using 

 heated air 1 had to make a difference. " Clerihew " 

 gives a portion of the heat at a high temperature, 

 while 1 try to secure the whole nearly at a moder- 

 ate temperature. In my "Drier" the air is removed 

 before it can get cold and heavy ; and there is no 

 more for it to fall aud rise again reheated I am 

 not quite sure of " J. B." 's meaning about the "heavy 

 moist air" descending iu the " Clerihew " : air holds 

 most moisture not certainly when cold. If it haa 

 become so cold as to be removed with greatest facility 



by being drawn downbehw as " J. B." recommends, 

 it is not then at an economic drying degree. I prefer 

 to draw the heated air up and along — while it is 

 ^oing the "duty" available — due to the difference of 

 "emperature between admission and discharge. Heat 

 ia loat in thia operation aa in all others, when an 

 exchange of forces takei place. 



The trays "moveable" or otherwise which "J. B." 

 doea not quite underetand, are alwaya in position 

 when the drying is going on, and only moved for fill- 

 ing or emptying; in fact, they are but parts of the 

 floors of the " Drier." 



I trust a few essential points of difference have now 

 been indicated between the "Clerihew" and the 

 "Drier." What the result may be, time will show, 

 but what I contend ave improvements, "J. B." thinks 

 defects arising from ray ignorance of the principles 

 of the "Clerihew," an apparatus long fallen into 

 desuetude from causes which 1 have roughly and in- 

 cidentally noted above. — I am, yours faithfully, 



WM. CAMERON. 

 ^-•S.— The above remarks do not apply to the design 

 for tea withering, etc. W. C. 



GIANT TEA BUSHES. 

 Upper Abbotaford, Lindula, 6th Feb. 1884. 

 Dear Sir, — As there is an idea that we have only 

 one giant tea tree instead of hundreds, I give the 



dimensions of some I measured laat week: 



Seed Bearers. Plucking Bushes. 



Diameter. Diameter, 



ft- in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. 



15 8 by 13 9 8 by 3 7 



20 4 „ 18 8 7 2 „ 6 



21 „ 19 7 9 9 8 6 



15 8 » 15 7 8 0,81 



16 .. 11 9 7 6 „ 7 3 

 19 „ 18 9 3 9 

 19 6 „ 18 6 9 10 „ 8 

 13 10 „ 13 10 5 ," 7 3 

 height 22 feet; circumfer- jq 5 " 9 6 

 ence of stem 22 inches. 12 4 " 10 3 



7 9 " 7 

 The big tree ia now 25 ft. 8 in. in diameter, or 

 77 feet in circumference. — Yours truly. 



A. M. FERGDSON, Jr. 

 ^^^^— —^-^ 



Glass-houses for tea factories are thus noticed 

 in the Indian Agriculturist : — Glass rooting material 

 for factories and outhouses is coming into such general 

 use in many parts of England, where it is found to 

 answer admirably, that the feasibility of its more general 

 introduction into this country is worth attention. 

 Excepting in and around the Presidency to«ns, most 

 of our factories consist of wretched, dingy, ill-lighted 

 sheds, with thatched roofs, in which it is difficult to 

 conceive how manufacture can be properly carried on. 

 There were lately on exhibition at the Islington Agri- 

 cultural Hall glass roofs put together without putty, 

 eo perfectly water-tight, that business waa carried on, 

 while a stream of water to ahow their intactueas, was 

 kept running over them all day long. Roofs such as 

 these are well fitted for the sorting and rolling houses 

 on our tea plantations, having the recommendation of 

 lightness, cleanliness, uninflamniability. and beiog per- 

 fectly water-tight. Blinds would keep the glare and 

 heat out, while the glass could be protected, from hail, 

 by wire gratings. Sorting could go on in the tea- 

 house without the women crowding round the doors 

 aa now, owing to insufficient light ; while the man- 

 ager would be better able to determine whether his 

 rolled leaf had acquired the requisite degree of color. 

 Glass houses, moreover, are exceedingly portable, and 

 at a proper height from the ground would attract the 

 beat less than iron. 



