March i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



679 



waist to prevent its slipping down. The Fijian took the 

 ba« and plasters off himself, sol wastolj by the planter, 

 in about 20 minutes time, but, laid /i;s version of the 

 treatment received to the magistrate, whereby the planter 

 got sentenced to two mouths with labour. There was a 

 lot of ill-feeling against the planter on the estate, owing to 

 scarcity of food, &c., or else I don't suppose there would 

 ever have been such a case. Now, this planter happened a 

 long time ago to have beeu in Ceylon for less than two 

 years altogether if I remember right, but has been in 

 Fiji for about 12, therefore according to A. E. W.'s 

 reasoning be 's a Ceylon planter and has learned his 

 system of working men there ! And because, to carry his 

 reasoning further, the owner, or part owner rather, of 

 the property where the mustard plaster business occurred 

 was a Ceylon planter for about two years, and because 

 I happened also to have been in Ceylon and write 

 to you about it all, therefore we are all in the 

 habit of cruelly using our men. If he doesn't mean this, 

 I beg his pardon and must acknowledge I don't know 

 what he means. 



Leaf-disease. — AVbilst up the Rewa, I took the opportuh is 

 of visiting Mr. Storck at Belmont to have a look at ni 

 pure going on. He took me to some Liberiau coffee trees 

 4 in number, all in a row, and under one of them I saw 

 the tin which he sn graphically describes in bis letters,, 

 with the mixture in it. I examined the tree, of course, and 

 was sorry to see spores fully developed, so they appeared 

 to the naked eye, although Mr. S. assured me they were 

 inert aud the leaves were yellow as if the disease was in 

 the tissues, but had not developed outwardly at that time. 

 The tree which had the tin under it had more disease and 

 more signs of it than the other 3,' ind it struck me 

 as being naturally a weaker and more backward one than 

 its companions. After what I saw, I must caudidly say I 

 have no faith in Mr. Storck's treatment. Mr. Jardine's 

 experiments ought iiually to settle the question. 



Miscellaneous. — Suva, the new capital, is quite a large 

 ))lace now. When last there, 4 years ago, oue might count 

 the houses on one's finger ends. Now it has several fine 

 stores, hotels, private residences, etc., aud presents quite a 

 busy aspect. The Governor lives there aud ail the Gov- 

 ernment otHces have been removed there, from 



Zevid-a. — The latter place is very quiet and very different 

 from what it used to be, I have been looking out for 

 my copy of the Ayriculturist with the map and SIi'. Vin- 

 cent's report on the Ceylon forests, but it has not reached 

 me: was it posted? [Yes — Ed. 0. O.] 



More steamers come from the Colonies here now than 

 formerly. Two come regularly from Australia and oue from 

 New Zealand. 



"Wishing Oeylon a prosperous New Year and many of 

 them, yours truly, A. J. S. 



RHEA FIBKE MACHINE. 

 Deak Sir, — Can you tell me what the probable 

 cost would be of oue of H. C. Smith's machines re- 

 ferred to in the Trojiiral Agricultiirist ior February ? 

 Will you also kindly tell me whether this fibre-plant 

 can be got in Ceylon ? We ought to be able to 

 grow it. Pineapple grows wild with us in this 

 country. Pineapple silk may, some day, become an 

 industrial export from Geyloii with the aid of this 

 machine — who can tell ? — Yours truly, ? 



MK. AV. CAMERON'S TEA DRYING APPARATUS. 

 Ythanside, Dimbula, 20th Feb. 1884 



Dear Sir, — ^Your learned correspondent " J. B." in re- 

 plying to my defence of the "Drier," begins another attack 

 by complimenting me on the possession of a calm 

 philosophic spirit. I thank him. The subject is truly a 

 hot one, but so important that oue may well keep cool 

 over it. Volumes have beeu written on the subjects of 

 heatiug, ventilating, &c., still the laws which govern these 

 are far from being popularly understood — nor are they 

 easily put in practice. 



It is curious to think that the common chimney was 

 introduced so late as iu the time of Elizabeth, and it 

 is mirvellous to think on the waste of fuel which has 

 been allowed to go on- since the great development of 

 arts and maaufactures in the past half-century. So im- 



portant is this that some of our best scientists have been 

 seriously employed iu trying to determine the probable 

 duration of the English coal-fields ! 



To descend from great things to small: there is 

 many an old worn out coffee estate which will yet grow 

 splendid tea. and one of the diiBculties will be the find- 

 ing of fuel for the manufacture of it. This want will be 

 met somehow, l.nit the best way of meeting scarcity is to 

 economize. I offer *' J.B." no apology for answering his 

 remarks at some length, careless as I am whether he or 

 1 prove right — it is the truth that we want to get at — 

 but " J B." must give me fair play. 



Now I have to complain that be seems to have had his mind 

 so fixed and decided qbout the merits of the " Clerihew 

 apparatus, that he did not examine my plans but in a 

 very superficial way, evidently overlooking the fact that 

 1 use a greater amouut of iron-heatiug surface than was 

 likely ever employed in a "Clerihew " of the same dimensions 

 In the ground plan is shown a large corrugated cast-iron 

 plate, for the flames of the furnace to play on, then the 

 covering of the brick flues is formed of sheet-iron, amount- 

 ing to about 1.50 square feet — -the brick-heating surfaces are. 

 fully double that. The whole is covered with broken stone, 

 the hard granite of our hills — with quartz. These 

 materials being in contact with the flues, form a large heat- 

 ing surface, for the air which is freely admitted below. 

 Air is ohe of the lowest heat conductors, being only capable 

 of being heated by convection, or carrying, i. e., the portions 

 iu contact with the heating surface get heated and rise, 

 giving place to others, much in the same way as water is 

 heated. To conclude the description of the "-Drier," the 

 flues in the aggregate have an area about eight times as 

 much as would be necessary for merely carrying off the 

 products of combustion, decreasing thus the velocity of the 

 smoke, &c., to allow of the radiation of the heat, which is 

 kept in constant action by the cool air admitted belo w. 

 Now for bricks, " J. B." is quite right that brickwork is 

 send for the retention of heat, and it has an advantage 

 over stone in its low degree of expansion and so does not 

 split, when used in furnace-work. But there are bricks and 

 bricks. Soft porous bricks form the best low conductors 

 of heatjwhile those of hard, close texture, conduct heat 

 sufficiently well, to have been used for the heating of large 

 plant conservatories, till quite recent times, when hot water 

 piping has superseded them, but for other reasons than the 

 difference of power in heat conduction. 



AVhat is attempted to be carried out in the " Drier " 

 is the saving of fuel, consistent with effective working. 

 There is no way of accomplishing this but by increas- 

 ing the heatiug surfaces, regulating, at the same 

 time, the distribution of the heat by the use of ma- 

 terials of different conducting powers, such as brick, 

 iron aud stone. Doubtless, the same effect can be ob- 

 tained, by expensive arrangements, in metal ; but why not do 

 the most with iue.vpensive materii>ls on the spot? Another 

 point to which; " J. B." 's attention may be directed. 

 An apparatus of the " Drier " kind does not require regular 

 firing, which in practice is a great advantage. When once 

 heated, the drying goes on till the whole mass has cooled 

 down to air tempeature. So there need be no night work 

 and a chimney damper keep.i the flues from wasting the 

 heat, at all times when the firing is discontinued. 



I repeat that the loss of he.at is just what is necessary 

 for the drought of the flues. I have not tried it with the 

 thermometer, but one can hold his hand in it. If it be- 

 came hotter I would stop firing for some time. It need 

 not be much hotter than the air heated for the drying- 

 house, if properly constructed. 



" J. B." will now see that I could not very well have 

 this kind of heating apparatus in the roof of my drying- 

 house, even to secm-e the problematical advantage of 

 drawing the heated air down, as in the " Clerihew." I 

 do admit that to draw the air down is the only way that 

 the " Clerihew" could be worked : were it admitted below, 

 t would simply strike against the nearest part of the 

 floor, and with a scorching and destructive effect. 



But to consider " up " and " down. " I cannot see that, 

 it the htMited air ie at the necessary drying temperature, 

 equally diffused on either side of the materials to be 

 dried, and under mechanical control, that it would make 

 the slightest difference whether it was drawn up or 

 down ? 



