May i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



829 



investigation, a syndicate of Lyons silk-merchants has re- 

 ported in its favour, and the great difficulty of procuring 

 it in sufficiently large quantities for the loam has been 

 overcome by the fact that there is no difficulty in acclim- 

 atising the spider in France. — Indian Agiiculturist We 

 should like to see this statement confirmed. Spiders gener- 

 ally are so pugnacious and cannibalistic, that <>l (in en- 

 closed for spinning purposes, only half-a-dozen bloated 

 individuals are said to have been found living after the 

 lapse of a night.— Ed.] 



IMPROVEMENTS IN THE "SIROCCO" TEA DRIER. 



Mr. Davidson having set up three of his new " Sirocco " 

 Driers on view at 60, Gracechurch Street, E. 0., we will- 

 ingly availed ourselves of his invitation to inspect them, 

 as we had learnt from him that he had introduced several 

 quite new features in the method of construction which 

 doubled their capacity for work. We found that whilst 

 the old " Sirocco " Driers of the No. 1 and No. 2 B type 

 are easily convertible by the veriest pretence of a coolie 

 lohar mistrie, the conversion totally altered the conditions 

 both as to area of trays exposed to the heated air, the 

 application of the heated air, the shape of the drier, and 

 the possibilities in the outturn of dried tea. There was 

 a converted " Sirocco " on view, and two of the latest 

 " Siroccos " constructed on the new system. Dealing firstly 

 with the former, and so many of these being already 

 in use, they merit the first mention. It is surprising to 

 find with what a little trouble the conversion is effected, 

 although the result is so important, and effects a thorough 

 change in the whole principle and shape of the drier. 

 An idea will be. gained of the ease with which the 

 change can be effected (on receipt of the new parts 

 which are supplied at the almost nominal cost of £23, 

 the trays being 22s. each extra) by stating that all that 

 has to be done, is to take off the hood and chimney, 

 then place upon the top, so exposed, the end of the long 

 chamber, now supplied. Then the old tray-chamber front 

 is removed by cutting off the rivet heads, and a piece 

 of sheet-iron is fixed in its place by means of screw- 

 rivets, to completely close this portion. This is done to 

 allow the heated air to pass up into the new drying- 

 chamber. The holes for the screw-rivets in the new sheet 

 are so placed as to correspond with the old rivet-holes, 

 thus saving all boring. The feeder's-table is then attached 

 to what used to be the right-hand side of the machine, 

 and this is done by removing two of the old rivets at 

 the top to take the table-brackets, or supporters, by 

 means of two screw-rivets. Two little notches have to 

 be cut in the comer irons to take the edge of the table, 

 similar to the old notches, but higher up, of sourse, as 

 the feeder has now to work with the trays at about 3 feet 

 above the present level of the top of the old " Siroccos." 

 After this there remains but to place the chimney in a new 

 position, at the side of the " Sirocco " by means of new bends, 

 which are supplied for the purpose, and the alterations 

 are completed. The result, for the nominal cost mentioned, 

 is an increase of two-thirds in the outturn. The New 

 Driers, constructed throughout to reap the full advantages 

 of the new principle, will show a still more marked 

 improvement. The new drying chamber takes eight trays, 

 four being on an upper row, and four beneath these. 

 Thus the area is doubled. The heat is so evenly dispersed, 

 that great equality in drying is the result. The waste 

 heat, which formerly was lost up the chimney, is now 

 dispersed from the top of the whole length of the long, 

 new drying-chamber, and thus may be utilised for withering 

 leaf in machans overhead. We can only mention a few 

 of the advantages of the new principle, as space does 

 not allow of a thorough description of the totally new 

 departure that has been effected ; and the vast improve- 

 ment, that is at once apparent on an inspection, v. mild 

 take too long to do even partial justice to here. Fer- 

 mentation is instantly arrested, and the rapid drying 

 which commences at the start, continues to the finish. 

 No motive power whatever is required. The trays require 

 less handling, being only twice lifted from start to finish 

 and hence they wear longer. No trays are required to 

 catch the fine yoorie. Besides these and the very greatly 

 increased outturn, there have been many practical improve- 



ments made in the construction of the stove of the new 

 driers, which have been suggested by past weaknesses, 

 and have been applied after long experience has indicated 

 the direction of perfect success. After this it needs only 

 to be added that the new "Siroccos" not only show an 

 immense increase in working power, but are made of 

 the best materials, under the personal supervision of the 

 inventor at his own works, and they certainly are 

 marvellously cheap, both in regard to the work they can 

 do, and the excellence of their material and construction. 

 Thus the new No. 5, which is in every respect similar 

 iu principle to the new No. I, but double the size 

 being — in fact, two Xo. -1 driers side by side, but worked 

 by a larger stove than a No. 4 — should turn out two maunds 

 of perfectly-dried tea per |hour, and its price, complete 

 with trays, thermometer, fire-irons, &c, packed and delivered 

 f.o.b., Liverpool or Glasgow, is only £95. With the Nos. 

 4 and 5 the drying is effected by fumes from the coke 

 with a mixture of air, though Mr. Davidson, we notice, 

 states in favour of his No. 3 (price £90, outturn 8f to 

 10 maunds dried tea per ten hours) that " It is now a 

 generally accepted opinion that pure air produces a finer 

 flavour in tea than air impregnated with fumes from 

 coke or charcoal, and in this respect only is the No. 4 

 'Sirocco' iu any way inferior to No. 3," in which latter 

 the drying is effected by pure heated air, the furnace 

 being on the same principle as in the old "Siroccos," 

 with certain important improvements. We were informed 

 that no less than fifty of these Driers have been sold 

 within the past fortnight, which speaks volumes for the 

 estimation in which they are held by those who have 

 had an opportunity of inspecting them. No less than 

 700 ot the old "Siroccos" have been sold, so the pro- 

 spects of being able to improve them at so cheap a rate 

 must be welcome news to many. — Home and Colonial Mail. 



THE BUPvLIAR EXPERIMENTAL GAEDEN, MADRAS 

 PRESIDENCY. 



This experimental Garden is situated on the Coonoor 

 Ghaut, at an elevation of about 2,500 feet above the sea, 

 in a deep and wooded ravine through which flows a 

 powerful perennial stream, diffusing moisture and cool- 

 ness around a most charming and romantic spot, but 

 unfortunately somewhat marred by a congeries of dirty 

 huts abutting on the road above the Garden, otherwise 

 the situation would be almost perfect, faced as it is, by 

 that most splendidly wooded mountain Iloolieul towering 

 above it in its southern front to the height of some seven 

 thousand feet, and backed to the North by that wonder- 

 ful rock called the "Lamb;" why, we never could make 

 out, for in its frowning majesty, it far more reminds one 

 of the Lion than of the Lamb. AVe cannot help paying 

 a tribute to the gorgeous scenery around, though, alas; 

 on the northern side, Coffee plantations and the ruthless 

 axes of the Corrumbur squatters have defaced what was, 

 when we first kuew it some forty years ago, one unbroken 

 line of Forest; not that a Coffee plantation in full leaf 

 is not a pretty sight of itself, still it cannot be compared 

 with the grandeur of a primeval forest. 



On entering the garden, we find ourselves amongst 

 spice trees of various kinds, all growing with great lux- 

 uriance. The Nutmeg with its lovely cream-colored fruit 

 reminds one, of choice white nectarines. The Mangosteen, 

 a tree of a most beautiful habit of growth, of a symetrical 

 pyramidal habit, the Clove, the Pimento or all spice, the 

 Cinnamon ; theu we have the Leechee, the Orange, the 

 Pommelo and Bread fruit. West African Coffee, Liberiau 

 and Mocha; the Ipecacuanha, the Cocoa, the Bullock 

 Heart, Custard Apple, Plantains, Vanilla, Pomegranate, 

 etc. Of the Mangosteen, we found there were some twenty- 

 five plants in the garden, from five to thirty years of 

 age. The tree first begins to bear at twelve years ; we 

 learnt that it was very difficult to raise the seedlings, that 

 they had a habit of dying out when about one year old: 

 we asked if grafting on the jungle garcinia * had been 

 tried. and were surprised to find that it had neve 

 tried; as it is desirable that this queen of fruit trees 



* The hint might be taken in Ceylon as well as in 

 India. — Ed. 



