486 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Janttary r, 1884. 



fyrr^spand^nco. 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer. 

 RHEA FIBRE : M. FAVIER'S PROCESS. 

 Ragalla, Udapussellawa, 9th Deo. 1S83. 



Sir,— la your articles on Fibres (page 456), it is 

 »aid that il. Faviei-'s process is aijplied to green 

 rhea, aud that a boiliug process which involves the 

 use of much fuel is c;irned out. 



In Def!ember List M. Favier showed me his machine 

 at Avignon, nioat carefully encased in deal boards to 

 conceal its working ; but hs showed to me the dry 

 chips which fall from the machine, and told me that 

 the sticks had to be thoroughly dry. With these 

 chips and refuse the small one-borse or half-ho'se- 

 power engine is fed, and they are more than sufficient 

 to feed it, the sticks containing about 20 °'„ fibre 

 and 80 °/„ refuse : so that I fancy the process quoted 

 as M. Favier's is some former one, not that now in use 

 under a pateut. 



M. Favier, in reply to some questions, stated that he 

 would not sell any machine, but that he would Bell 

 the use of it or the use of the patent in any country, 

 and would, if a Ceylon company or syndicate came 

 to him, be open to terms and would state so many 

 shares to represent the value of the patented machine^ 

 but he refused to go into any particulars oif-hand. 

 In fact, M Favier would wish to have shares in every 

 case in which bis invention may he used, which at 

 least shows strong confidence in its value. 



M. d' Uuuieres, who was Managing Director of the 

 San Bemo Luano Co. which bought the use of the 

 machine iu Italy, was found to be usiuj the money 

 of the Company for his own affairs, and has been put 

 in prison. He had been "wanted" by the French 

 police for some time. So that I fear that the story 

 of plantations iu Java was false, but 1 believe the 

 Company is not much affected by his misdeeds. 



The samples now at your office are from samples 

 worked up Irmn M. Favier's dry process. 



The Sinhalese name for Urtica verriigona (Trimen) 

 is Gam^aiti, not " Gambake," according to a Kalutara 

 man. — Yours faithfully, 



COST OF TEA : HAND-MADE AND BY 

 MACHINE. 

 Oonoonagalla, Madulkele, 12th Dec. 1883. 



Dear Sir, — Your correspondent " Adam's Peak " 

 having at last given his reasjns for calling in ques- 

 tion the accuracy of my statements, I trust you will 

 allow me the right of final reply. 



In page 18 of Mr. Armstrong's paper is a calculation, 

 now quoted by your correspondent, in which is a 

 palpable clerical error. This_ calculation was never 

 referred to nor quoted by me, the correct figures 

 being those on page 15, for the quotation of which 

 alone I accept the resp(maibility. I'liese figures give 

 "withering, rolling, and firing," at GJ cents, and 

 the attempt in the part of your oorrrcspondent to 

 prove theui wrong by assuming the correctness of 

 the other figures wijere the error really lies, does 

 justice to hii ingenuity, but, surely, assumes a great 

 lack of commonseuse (m the part of your readers. 



In support of my siatement that Mr. Armstrong's 

 figures, as quoted hy ttip, are correct, I would refer 

 you to Mr. Hay's statement [T. A. page 3So) wliere he 

 endorse? them, and even raises the amount in ques- 

 tion to 7 cents on the authority of vjr. Hughes of Galle- 

 bodde. Thepoint, therefore, is, do you and your readers 

 place great-^r faith in the published resuit.? of Messrs. 

 Armstrong, Hay and llughcii, all of wiiich agree closely, 

 or in those of your anonymous correspondent, whose 

 only claim to authority (while he preserves his anonym- 



ity) is his ipse, dixit in the second paragraph of his last 

 letter: "I did so [accused Mr. Owen of ludicrous 

 inaccuracy] because 1 knew the cost of various oper- 

 ations referred to " (the italics are mine) ? 



Apart from the clerical error in page 18 of Mr. 

 Armstrong's paper, which, as t have shown, is entirely 

 beside the question as far as I am concerned, and 

 which I have no doubt that gentleman will correct, 

 "Adam's Peak" 's whole arugm-nt falls to tlie ground, 

 and his charge of " ridiculous inaccuracy " as applied to 

 me recoils on himself unless he still maintains the some- 

 what untenable position that every writer on the 

 suljject but himself is in error. 



Apart from this unfortunate subject, I hardly 

 think sufficient stress is laid on the many other ways 

 in which machinery will, in the future, effect a 

 saving over hand-work. A factory fitted with all 

 appliances is of much smaller siz3 than one for hand- 

 work, and, hence, some portion of the outlay in 

 machinery is recouped at the outset. Then it must 

 be remembered that almost double the labour force 

 would be required on a garden not fitted with 

 machinery ; and this would mean extra line room, 

 with numerous other petty expenses and a largely 

 increased item for supervision ; the providing of work 

 for a double labour force in slack seasons, and the 

 annoying consciousness that the heavier the plucking, 

 the s'inaller the proportion of hands that can be spared 

 to bring the leaf in ; extra kangani's pay in con- 

 sequence of the necessity for a large labour force 

 with proportioaat ly small weeding contracts, and 

 various other similar items which will occur to one. 

 I think the questiou is more accurately stated in this 

 way : — " What extra amount will hand-minufacture 

 cost? " Tiiat it would be .adequately represented by 

 less than 7 cents (with water-power and every appli- 

 ance in saving labour, where all the various consider- 

 ations are taken iuto question,) I do not believe, 

 but to tabulate correctly the numerous indirect 

 savings would be impracticable. These remarks do 

 not of course apply to the lowcountry, where labour 

 is cheaper, and water-power the exception. — Yours 

 faithfully, T. C. OWEN. 



[Of course, cost of machinery, interest, and tear and 

 wear must be taken into account, but we do not 

 suppose any human being doubts the vast advantages of 

 good machinery. — Ed.] 



DR. TRIMEN ON C. LEDOERIANA. 

 R. B, Garden, Peradeniya, 22nd Deo. 1883. 

 Sir, — One has often cause, here in Ceylon, to regret 

 the distimce in space and tiiae which separate us from 

 home, but never more so than when it leaves us so 

 long in ignorance of the d'^ath of our friends. When 

 you did me the favour of publishing in your columns 

 of 26th November my reply to Mr. Howard's papers 

 on Cinchona Leihjeriana, the veteran quinologist had 

 already passed away. Death closes all controversies, 

 and my remarks must remain unanswered. Moat men 

 however have done their work at the age to which Mr. 

 Howard had attained, and in his case there can be no 

 doubt as to the permanent value of his long-continued 

 and persevering labours. I also wish to record my 

 sense of the ready promptitude with which he was 

 always ready to make his great knowledge and ex- 

 perience of use to both individuals, and the public. 

 This aid iu this way, will indeed be much missed in 

 the east. 



I write now, however, to set right a little irregularity 

 incident to this sad event. I timed sending my paper 

 to you so that it might appear simultaneously iu the 

 Ceylon Ohserver here, and the Pharmnceiitical Journal 

 at home — as was explained in the prefatory letter 

 printed with it — and but for the sad occurrence we 

 \ deplore this would have been the case. My MS. 



