,):• 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1885 



With the smoke escapes 

 nly about one fifth of 



outside of the Factory wall 



of course some heat, but only 



■what is generated by the fuel, which says not a 



little for the ingenious construction of the stove, and 



air beating chambers. 



9. No motive power is required. The force made 

 use of, and it is ample, is a natural and constant 

 one, depending on the simple law that hot air 

 ascends, and causes a partial vacuum. There is thus 

 no expenditure for motive power. 



10. The stove and part of the vertical stem should 

 be sunk in the ground to such a depth as to allow 

 the top of the horizontal flue, or hot air chamber, 

 (the left projection of the letter T,) to be 3£ feet above 

 the floor. The tea can then in the upper range of 

 trays be conveniently examined at all times, and its 

 progressive rate of drying seen to. 



11. The tea caunot so readily burn now. First 

 the heat i6 uniform as explained in No. 4, secondly 

 the lower tray is now 6 feet above the stove, instead 

 of 3 feet as formerly. 



12. The important alterations effected, make it im- 

 possible for the iron of the machine to burn as it did 

 m the old type. 



13. The temperature taken at top of the chimney is 

 about 250 ° as against 350 ° kept back, and the volume 

 escaping is small as compared with what is retained 

 and utilized. 



14. The fine tea or •'goorie," which falls through 

 the sieves when in positions Nos. 5, 6 and 7, lies all 

 day at the bottom of the horizontal flue, and is 

 collected when the work is finished. It receives no 

 injury by remaining there, because the outer and lower 

 face of the iron, on which it lies, is exposed to the 

 outer air, and secondly beat from hot air strikes very 

 feebly downwards. 



The old form of siroccos, if there happen to be any 



in Ceylon, can now be converted into the new type 



at a cost of £23 for the parts necessary. These being 



obtained, any blacksmith can effect the conversion. 



The old types were No. I burning coal or wood, and 



No. 2 burning coke or charcoal only, 



The new Machines now making are Nos. 3, 4 and 5, thus : — 



Maunds of Fuel Maun ds Tea Prices f. o. b. 



required for a day in a day of at Liverpool 



of 10 hours. 10 hours. or Glasgow. 



£. 

 No. 3* Coal5 to 6, or Wood 10 to 12 9 to 10 90 



No. 4t Coke or Charcoal 4 to 5 9 to 10 55 



No. 5t Coke or Charcoal 8 to 10 15 to 18 95 



"Current hot air only. All the foregoing description; applies to 

 this machine. 



t Products of combustion of good coke or charcoal mixed with 

 air. fto chimney. Shortly described; below. 



No. 4 differs from No. 3 only as regards the 

 stove or air-heating portion, and of course requires no 

 chimney. 



No. 5 is similar in principle to No. 4 but twice as 

 large. It lias a much larger stove which practically 

 works two No. 4 dryers placed side by side. 



The stove of No. 3 is all iron. The stoves of Nos. 



4 and 5 are brick work with the necessary iron fittings. 



The above descriptions would not be practically 



complete without my opinion as to which is the b st 



machine. 1 will give it in very few words. 



Those who have a No. 1 Sirocco should alter it 

 to the No. 3 form, and those who have a No, 2 should 

 make it like to a No. 4. No need whatever for such 

 to get new machines. 



Because, I think, pure hot air, as a drying agent, 

 very superior to the products of coke combustion, and 

 possibly superior, certainly equal to the products of 

 charcoal combustion, I advise new purchasers to con- 

 fine themselves to the No. 3 machines only. 



I see no real advantage in one No. 5 over two No. 4 

 beyond £15 saved in the cost. 

 One word in conclusion as to the prices of Siroccos. 

 Tea at its present market rates, can'tafford expensive 



machinery. As regards dryeis, Mr. Davidson haB awoke 

 to this fact. His prices for the new siroccos are certainly 

 low. He being his own manufacturer, has not to add 

 makers' profits, and thus, perbaps, he can afford to 

 sell lower than others. 



I have lately sent two articles to the Tea Gazette pub- 

 lished ia Calcutta, anent these new siroccos. The 

 descriptions are there more in detail than I give here, 

 for I feared you would deny the space. They can be 

 referred to by enquirers to supplement this letter. 



EDWARD MONEY. 



TEA DRYERS. 

 Sunnycroft, Leamington, Dec. 5th. 1884. 

 Sir, — In the Observer of November 8th appears a 

 letter from Messrs. W. H. Davie-, & Co., under the 

 above heading in which they give what they call a 

 comparative statement of the capabilities and prices 

 of Kinmond's dryer Messrs., Gibbs & Barry's and the 

 "Sirocco." The Gibbs & Barry requires coke or char- 

 coal luel and need not therefore enter into the com- 

 parison which I now give as under : — 



Outturn p^r hour Cost f. o. b. 

 of perfectly dried tea. England. 

 Kinmond's No. 3 dryer ... 3 maunds £250 



No. 2 dryer... 2 ,, £17S 



Note. — The above dries one maund tea with the 

 consumption of less than § maund ordinary 

 wood-fuel. 

 The No. 3 "Sirocco"... 1 maund £90 



Note. — The above (according to Mr. Davidson's 

 Circular) dries 10 maunds tea with the 

 the consumption of 12 maunds dry wood. 

 That is, the " Sirocco " requires more than double the 

 fuel required by Kinmond's Dryer. The " Sirocco " 

 owing to its small furnace requires dry fuel. Kinmond's 

 with i's large furnace may be used with green or any 

 kind of fuel. 



One other fact will hardly escape the eyes of planters 

 when making the comparison. Kinmond's latest 

 improved dryers have been working for the last two 

 seasons at the rates stated above. The ' ' Sirocco " 

 has been working during the same time doing exactly 

 half the work which now it is asserted it can do. 

 Query? Where is there a No. 3 " Sirocco" now working 

 at the rate of one maund of dry tea per hour. 



Thanking you in anticipation for inserting the above 

 in the Observer, yours faithfully, 



J. C. KINMOND. 

 P.S. — Messrs. Davies & Co. omitted to state the 

 fact that a No. 3 " Sirrocco " occupies more space 

 than my largest size dryer and that three No. 3 

 "Siroccos" would 611 a good size tea house. 



Tiiit Gibbw & Barry Nrw Tka Dryer is thus 

 described in the London Tea Utter of the Indian 

 Planting Gazette : — 



I went out to Chingford, a few days back, to inspect the 

 Gibbs and Barry new type of Dryer, and it is certainly 

 in many respects a grat improvement on the original type. 

 Thus, a ton weight of metal has been completely done 

 away with in the construction, by changing the manner 

 of supporting the cylinder. The massive girders are no 

 longer necessary as the support is arranged for by a new 

 appliance attached to both euds, these appliances being 

 themselves supported on brick pillars. This in no way 

 weakens the machine, but considerably lessens its cost 

 and of course effects a great saving in weight and freight. 

 The revolution of the cylinder is no longer effected by 

 friction-gear but by mill-gearing (" cog-wheels") which will 

 be found both more durable and more regular in aciion. 

 The means of raising the end to the desired angle is now 

 much simplified aud improved, by a complete change in 

 the gear employed for this purpose. By means of an ad- 

 ditional air conduit from the fan, the dust can be helped 

 forward, but without a diagram this novelty— simple enough 

 in itself— would be difficult to explain, and an attempt to 

 do so would probably end in confusing the reader. Mr. 



