THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



tJyLY I, 1885, 



not tliiuk of asking Mr. Megginson whether hia pro- 

 longed rolling was a necessity, from the use of 

 Excelsiors, or the result of experience which proved 

 tho lieneiit of the longer period, but we have no doubt 

 that courteous gentleman will kindly afford this inform- 

 ation as he so readily did on all other points referred 

 to him. We have endeavoured to give a popular 

 notice of Jackson's Drier, which, supplementing his 

 Excelsior Roller, places Ceylon planters, at the com- _ 

 roenoement of their enterprize, in possession of the best ' 

 machinery, the result of extended and costly ex- 

 peripnce in India, giving them thus great and im- 

 portant advantages, oj which they and the colony are 

 to be congratulated. We meant to refer to the 

 technical descriptions of the Victoria and Venetian 

 driers and to deal with other topics suggested by 

 our visit to Carolina. But we must, for today, hold 

 our band- 



HIOH PKICE.S FOR TEA MACHINERY— JACKSON'.S VltTOElA 

 DRIER — OOOD .SOLID WOKK — SAVING OF LABOR AND 

 FUEL — DESCEIVTION OF THE MACHINE — THE AMERICAN 

 PATENT CHAIN — A TE.ST OF THE TEA PREPAKED EY 

 JACKSON'S DRIER AND THE .SIROCCO — THE VENETIAN 

 DKIER— TEA WITHERING — MANURING TEA— ASSAM IN 

 DIOBNOUS — MO.SS ON TEA : CADSE AND REMEDY. 



Wo suspect that many of our planter readers will 

 draw a long breath as they scan the symbols £270, 

 representing the price at the English works of 

 Jackson's Victoria Drier, Class B. " Where are we 

 to obtain 1U,000, which the machine will cost by the 

 time it is erected in a Ceylon Tea Factory, even if 

 motive power already exists ? " will be the question 

 asked and difficult to answer. And, of course, neither 

 Excelsior Rollers nor Victoria Driers are within the 

 reach of beginners. These must content themselvee 

 with cheaper machines, until tracts of 100 acres or 

 over come into full bearing with a rush, the tea crop 

 providing the means for obtaining the requisite 

 machinery for preparing it. Such great central 

 factories as that on Card ma solve the difficulty in a 

 still better manner, the green leaf being purchased 

 bj the owners of such factories from the proprietors 

 of neighbouring estates at remunerative prices, and so 

 enabling the latter to save the cost of buildings and 

 machinery, until the extent of tea in ■bearing justificB 

 a separate establishment. There can be no question 

 that for the preparation of tea more costly machinery 

 is required and more unremitting labour and attention 

 demanded than was the case in regard to coffee. 

 But arrangements can be made to give superintend- 

 ents much needed holidays, and as regards cost of 

 machinery, which we trust will be soon reduced, it 

 must not be forgotten that in the case of tea all the 

 lequi-'ite machinery and operations are concentrated 

 on ihe estate. The Colombo agmt, if one is employed, 

 niertly receives and ships the already hermetically 

 chised boxes which are rtady for the market. 

 But, to show how persoi 3 differ in their estimates 

 of cos'lincss, we may say that Mr. Jackson, in con- 

 Tcrsiu'^ w.t\\ us about liis machine, dwelt on i'.s 

 eonipaiative cheapneea nhen its merits were considered. 

 He faid ;— "My endeavour has been to provide 

 the- tea planter-", especially those of Ceylon, with 

 thii beat possible drier at tlie cheapest possible price, 

 irnd I believe this machine meets thoto conditidiis." 

 We have already mentioned that tho weight of 

 metal ill tho structure, including fiamuwork, furnace, 

 iiij.e.'i, bad-covered diying webs and gearing of all 

 kiuds, in no liss than 13 tons, while the fact that 

 the manufiitturerers are Messrs. Marshall, f^ons & Co. 

 of Gainsborough is a guarantee for tho honeat, si lid, 

 lasting character of iho work. Then, let us hear Mr. 

 Jacksun state both what can bo saved and gained 

 by tho use of his hot air exhaust, antomatio feeding 

 and dibchargiug drier, Jt is wtli to be remiudtd 



that 90 per cent of labour and an enormous saving 

 in charcoal, fuel, costly and troublesome to obtain, 

 are secured by the eupercessiou of the old " chulahs " 

 or " dholea." The time had arrived, indeed, when 

 over wide areas the kinds of timber alone suitable 

 for charcoal had become exhausted. The same may 

 be said of timber gener.-iUy, and the next great dis- 

 covery desiderated in the interests of steam navigation 

 and railway travelling as well as tea mauufucture. 

 is that of a fuel small in bulk, cheap in price and 

 rich in clean and concentrated caloric. The small 

 dimensions of the drier are contrasted with the im- 

 mense .-.rea occupied by the "chulahs." But let ui 

 quote the patentee's description : — 



The utiUzatioD of all the heat generated by its stove, 

 as no trays have to be drawn out to turn the tea, no 

 heat is lost and all risk of smoking is avoided by using 

 surface heated air. 



Wood, coal, or grass fuel can be used, by this means 

 a continuous supply of hot air is generated in a multi- 

 tubular cast-iron stove ; this stove being of auch a nature 

 that no fumes, smoke, or ga-ses from the combustion 

 chamber can come in contact with the drying tea. 



Stewing is impossible, as a very powerful exhaust fan 

 is placed on the top of the Machine, and the moist air is 

 instantly drawn off the drying tea, and is followed up 

 by fresh and pure hot air drawn through the tubes of 

 the furnace from the surrounding atmosphere, thus retaining 

 the original aroma of the out-turn, and giving it that 

 malty Savour so highly prized in the market. 



The risk of burning is reduced to a minimum by a 

 peculiar arrangement of air ducts, the leaves during the 

 process of drying are submitted to a temperature of 300" 

 when at first fed into tlie Machine, then the drying js 

 completed in a temperature of about 2U0°. The Machine 

 also being on the exhaust principle makes it favorable for 

 adjustment, and doors are placed in it which if opened 

 will reduce the working temperature over 100" in tho 

 course of a few minutes. 



Fermentation is instantly checked, and the color may bo 

 fixed or decided upon before the leaf is put in tho 

 machine without any fear of its becoming more fermented, 

 and no time lias to be allowed for that purpose, as in 

 some Drying Machines. 



The color or bloom of out-turn is improved, and is of 

 a beautiful glossy black, from the fact that the tea liea 

 perfectly still on the moving trays and is not handled' 

 Mostly all who are acquainted with tea manufacture 

 know that handling is very injurious to the color of tea, 

 and this is a most important advantage gained over tray 

 dryers. 



The action of the machine is perfectly automatic, and 

 the leaf to be dried is placed in a mechanical feeding 

 hopper, the bottom of which consists of a aol'd travel- 

 ling web or band, composed of corrugated lead-coated iron 

 plates. Over the top of this band a reciprocating plate 

 moves for the purpose of equaliziug the feed, which it 

 does with great regularity. The feeding hopper is suUiciently 

 large to hold about two or three maunds of fermented leaf. 

 AVhen the leaf is carried in by the automatic feeder it falls 

 on to an endless travelling web of perforated plates, (also 

 of lead-coated iron) which overlap each other somewhat 

 like ■\'enetian blimls when closed. 



These are carried round on the chain wheels at ends by 

 means of pitch chain of a disconnecting and iuterchaugabic 

 form. The web lias a slow motion imparted to it by means 

 of gearing, and it carries the tea along while tho exhaust 

 fan ie drawing the hot air rapidly through it. Wlien it 

 roaches the end it is tipped over and falls on a second web 

 of the same kind. It is thus returned aud tijircd on to a 

 third, and .-lo on till it passes over three travelling webs, 

 aud is then discharged. It is thus tui'ued several tiinea in 

 tho course of drying, aud those travelling webs can he 

 adjusted in a few seconds to run at diA'erent speeds, al- 

 lowing tho tea from 10 to 2.') miuute.s iu the machine. 

 One boy is required to supply the hopper with leaf, another 

 to carry uway the driwd tea, aud unother to attend to the 

 fire. The motive power to drive the macliiuo is fractional. 

 Tho consumption of fuel varies of course with its con- 

 ditions, but it will generally bo found that from one-and- 

 a-half to two muunda of fairly good timber will give s 



