546 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1885. 



with neglecting tbe interests of their priueipale, as 

 witness their recent ".comparative" advertisement, 

 in which they exalt the " Sirocco," with the most 

 recent improvements, against all competitors for effici- 

 ency and cheapness. There can be no question as to 

 the excellence of the " Sirocco " as a tea drier and 

 it is not only cheaper in itself, than most competing 

 machines, but being self-acting the cost of pro- 

 viding motive power is saved. Kinmond's Drier, on 

 the other hand has the advantage for large " con- 

 cerns " of getting through a great deal of work in a 

 limited period. Colonel Money, it will be remem- 

 bered, gave the palm to Kinmond's Dryer, which 

 fact we did not fail to notice, in reviewing the latest 

 edition of Money's work. But we felt compelled to 

 say that it ought to be good and to do good work, 

 considering its nigh price, apart from the necessity of 

 providing motive power. Mr. Kinmoxd evidently took 

 note of our remarks, for in his letter he writes : — 



"I enclose a copy of my this year's circular referring to 

 my dryers which shows a great reduction in price, thus : — 

 No. 1 Dryer. No. 2 Dryer. No. 3 Dryer. 

 £ £ £ 



Original price ... 150 220 300 



Reduced ... 128 178 250 



"When the quantity of work these dryers can turn out 

 is taken into consideration, they are by far the cheapest 

 in the market, and the consumption of fuel in the most 

 improved dryers is considerably under half a niaund of 

 green wood to one niaund of pucka tea dried. 



"As on a former occasion last year you wrote in the 

 Observer about the high jrrice of these dryers I shall be 

 obliged if you will draw attention to the reduction in 

 these prices, $-c, in the pages of the Observer. Jackson's 

 new dryer which dries about 2$ maunds tea per hour 

 costs £360, exclusive of cost of packiug and rail and post 

 in England, that is £-100, f. o. b. My No. 3 dryer dries 

 3 maunds per hour aud costs £250 f. o. b. and require 

 less than half a maund of wood to 1 maund of tea dried 

 while Jackson's, according to his own circular, requires 

 2 maunds of wood to 1 maund of tea dried." 

 We leave this extract to speak for itself, while the 

 local agents for the "Siroccos" will not fail to notice 

 that their compar.son now must be not between Kin- 

 mond's No. 1 dryir at £150 and the No. 3 Sirccco 

 at £90, but between the former at £128 and the latter 

 still at £90. The difference in absolute cost is, how- 

 ever, still considerable, apart from the expense of 

 providing motive power, and the great questions which 

 remain are as to comparative work done and fuel con- 

 sumed. In both respects, it will be seen, Mr. Kin- 

 mond claims superiority for his machines over Jackson's' 

 The Siroccos he does not mention, nor do the 

 agents of theFe machines go into the question of 

 fuel, which in some parts ot India and of Ceylon as 

 well, is a matter nf much importance. We should be 

 glad to receive and publish results locally obtained as 

 to fuel consumed in proportion to tea prepared by the 

 various machines now in use in Ceylon. They are, 

 we believe, 



Kinmond's Dryers 



Jackson's ,, 



Davidson's "Sirocos. " 



The American Evaporators. 

 The latter only just introduced and being tried, 

 We are not aware that any of Gibb's and Barry's 

 machines, or any others not enumerated above have 

 bten introduced into the island? 



It is a curious tact that while Mr. Ker/ has in- 

 vented a roller aod Mr. Gore has patented a very 

 promising sifter, there has been no local attempt at 

 a drier, if we except Mr. C. Shand's hot water machine > 

 At this moment, Jackson's new and improved driers 

 not having been tested in Ceylon, the favourite 

 machines here are : 

 Jackson's Rollers. 



[Thomson's challenge roller and Mr. Kerr's inven- 

 tion beiny al-o well reported of. We are not aware J 



whether any of Kinmond's rollers are at work in 

 Ceylon '!] 



Kinmond's Dryers. I Bracketted together as 



Davidson's Siroccos. | No. 1. 



B'lth are very yood : Kinmond's being the better 

 for large concerns, although as Messrs. W. H. Davies 

 & Co. shew, three Siroccos can be obtained, or could 

 be, for the cost of one large Kinmond at the old 

 price. As let Jackson's impiuved driers have to be 

 pioved in Ceylon, those on tbe principle of the Sirocco 

 not being quite equal to the latter machine. 



The Messrs. Davidson tell us that Colonel Money 

 has cxpressid a very favourable opinion of their new- 

 make "Siroccos," an opinion which ho is to convey 

 in one of his letters to the Indian Tea Gazette. We 

 may expect, therefore to see what the veteran 

 writer on tea and tea preparation has to say on the 

 subject at an early date. 



Jackson's Sifter we know does excellent work and 

 the tiial of Ansell's machine was very satisfactory. 

 The trial also of Goro's Bifter and separators was very 

 promising. 



The local inventions for the withering of green leaf 

 have been very creditable and very successful. So 

 with improvements in the erection of Tea " Factories." 



If we have omitted anything or made any mistakes, 

 we shall be glad to be corrected. — Ceylon Observer, 

 December, 22, 1SS4. 



•♦ 



AMERICAN RUBBER TREES. 



To the Editor Ceylon Observer. 

 Colonial Secretary's Office, Colombo, 23rd Dec. 1884. 

 Sir, — I am directed to transmit to you the annexed copy 

 of a letter from the Foreign Office to the Colonial Office 

 forwarding information iu regard to South American India- 

 rubber trees. — lam, sir, your obedient servant, R.H.Sinclair, 

 for Colonial Secretary. 



Tlie Foreign Office to the Colo/rUd Office. 

 The Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office. 



Foreign Office, Nov. 15th 1884. 

 Sir, — I am directed by the Secretary of State for 

 Foreign Affairs to transmit to you, to be laid before the 

 Earl of Derby, a despatch from Her Majesty's Consul at 

 Rio de Janeiro respecting the cultivation of the India- 

 rubber tree: aud I am to state that Sir Joseph Hooker 

 has suggested that the information should be communicated 

 to the Government of Ceylon. — I am, &c. 



(Signed) Edmund Fitzmaorice. 



Acting Consul Nicolini to Earl Granville. 



British Consulate, Rio, 1st August, 1884. 



The Right Honorable the Earl of Granville, K.G. &c. 



My Lord, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 

 of a despatch, Commercial No. 2 of the 22nd of March 

 last signed by Lord Edmund Fitzniaurice, inclosing me 

 copy of a letter addressed to Her Majesty's Foreign Office 

 by the sub-Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, referr- 

 ing to the cultivation, &c, of the Indiarubber tree, and 

 instructing me to furnish your Lordship with the further 

 information on this subject applied for by Sir Joseph 

 Hooker. 



The reason of my having delayed so long in 

 answering your Lordship's despatch, has been that 

 after full iuquiry here, I was unable to obtain 

 knowledge of whatsoever description regarding the in- 

 formal ion required, and consequently I addressed Her 

 Majesty's Consular officers at Maranham, Ceara and Pani 

 on the subject, and 1 have now the honor to enclose 

 herewith to your lordship a memorandum received yesterday 

 from the British acting Vice-Consul at Ceara, in reply 

 to queries I requested he would kindly answer with reference 

 to the cultivation, &c, of the Indiarubber tree as far as 

 the province of Ceara was concerned. 



On receiving further information from Maranham and 



Para, I will immediately forward same to your lordship. 



—I have the honor to be with the highest respect, my 



lord, &c, (Signed) E. Nicoi.ini. 



Answers to questions as regards the production and 



