?52 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURfSt. 



[May I, i8S6. 



taken on. and the " enfis," when dry, present a bright 



orange color. 



(ti) In the roDing, all that Is expressed is the moist 

 gijin contaiuiDg the tjtnniil and other chemical elements. 

 if the withering aud fermentation is properly carried 

 out (taking into consideration the time of year aud the 

 contingent condition of the leaf), the leaf is ready, after 

 Ihe rolling, to go straight to the firing apparatns, thus 

 doing away with the separate fermentation now neces- 

 sary after rolling. The time occupied is stated at about 

 50 minutes or an hour. Of course, leaf which has pre- 

 viously become partially withered before being placed 

 in the machine, would require a much shorter period of 

 time to finish. The present machine, which is 8 ft. bj'- 

 8 ft., is capable of preparing 6 to 7 maunds of fresh green 

 unwithered leaf at a fill. — Indian lea Gazette. 



ErCALYPTI THF TalLEST ThEES IN TITE AVoKLn.— The 

 tilest accurately measured Sequoia ("NVellingtonia) 

 standing in the Calaveras Grove, Oalifornia, measures 

 325 ft., and there is no positive evidence that any 

 trees of this genu.s ever exceeded that height, ('f 

 late years, explorations in Gippsland, Victoria, have 

 brought to light some marvellous specimens of Eucalyp- 

 tus, and the State Surveyor of Forests measured a 

 fallen tree on the banks of the "Watts River, and 

 found it to bo 4?5 ft. from the roots to the top of 

 the trunk. The crest of this tree was broken off, 

 but the trunk at the fracture was ft. in circumference, 

 and the height of the tree when growing was estim- 

 ated to have been more than 500 ft. The tn-e, 

 however, was dead, though there is no doubt that it 

 was far iofticr than the tallest Sequoia. Near Fernshaw, 

 in the Daudenong district, Victoria, there has recently 

 been discovered a specimen of the Almond Leaf Gum 

 (Eucalyptus amygdahna) measuring 380 ft. from the 

 ground to the first branch, and 450 ft. to the 

 topmost twig. This tree would overtop the tallest 

 living Sequoia by 125 ft. Its girth is 80 ft., which 

 is less than that of many Spquoias, but, as far as 

 height is concerned, it must be considered the tallest 

 living tree in the world. — Scv'nfific American. 



Niiw Ediiilk Fi'NTiL'S.— Mr. Oolen.so call attention 

 to the rapidly-increa.sing value as an article of export 

 from New Zealand of Hiriieola pofi/trichn. This 

 mushroom, first described from the East Indies and 

 Java by Montague, is of v;irious sizes and shapes, 

 some specimens measuring even a few inches. It i.s 

 found in New Zealand j^rowing on the trunks of 

 trees, both on living and on decaying ones, especially 

 on the latter while standing, particularly on the stems 

 of (^ort/i\ocarpi's Iivv'ujaia aud on JL'ui/tvs nnniftorus 

 Both of these are endemic. The firmer is mostly 

 confined to tht- sea-shore, where it often forms dense 

 and cuntinous thickets. The latter tree is scattered 

 pleutifully throughout t\n] pountry. AVhen dry. the 

 mushroom buconies shrivelled up, aud is as hard as 

 horn; when wet, it is suft and elastic, almost sub- 

 gelatinous. It grows in compact gregarious masses. 

 The market for this fungus is China, where it is 

 largely used by the Chinese in soups. It appears 

 that another species of the same geinis indigenous 

 in North China has long been an article of commerce. 

 Mr. lierkeley notes of our British species, H. ainicula- 

 judn , that it was ouce a popular remedy for sore 

 throats, and adds that it is still occasionallv sold at 

 Covunt Garden Market, The New Zealand species 

 is plentiful, and obtained at little cost, thn drying of 

 it being an easy matter. Originally the price paid to 

 collectors was a penny per pound; nnw it is nomin- 

 ally twopence halfpenny, while its retail price in China 

 is five times fliis. The ih-vlarcd value per ton at the 

 Customs ranges from WV. to 35/. a ton, and is doubt- 

 less much below its real viilue. During the last twelve 

 years some 1,858 tons of this fungus were exported, 

 chieily from the port3 of Auckland and "Wellington. 

 and of a declared vaUie of almost 80.000/.— (Wtn/N. 

 ronzancc Nat. Hist, and Autiq Soc. lS8I-8r..)— X/^'-r. 



SwiNru'KNElTEA LEAF) CiforPEH. — The late.st addition 

 of machinery to thu production of tea i« oue which Ua^ 



often been projected by planters, but which, as far as 

 we know, has never till now been carried to completion. 

 The "Swinburne Cropper," which is sinii)lc in construe- 

 tiou, though an ingenious and not inelegant machine, is 

 designed tu supersede hand plucking altogether on 

 Indian tea gardens, and there can be no doubt that if it 

 fulfils its purpose it will be by far the most important 

 invention which has yet been applied to tea production. 

 The py/iiiu facie objection to machine pluckiug is the 

 pos.sible injury which the plants may .suffer from the 

 somewhat drastic treatment; but the inventor, who has 

 tried the system on his own gardens in Assam for two 

 seasons, asserts that so far from this danger being a 

 real oue the bushes are actually strengthened by sj'stem- 

 atic pruning. The machine is calculated to do the work 

 of about ten coolies, being worked by oue, and as very 

 little skill or practice is required in its manipulation 

 there'should be no difficulty in its general introduction. 

 The blades of the cutter are so arranged as to be in- 

 capable of taking otf more of the flush than is necessary 

 to make good tea, and as the surface is reduced by the 

 process to a perfect level, it follows that ou the second 

 pruning all the leaves must he of the same age. The 

 leaf is therefore more homogeueous, aud the quality 

 consequently improved, while the quantity, according to 

 Mr. Swinburne's experiments is not diminished. — I'lani- 

 ers* Gazette. [Our feeling is that the machine may be 

 useful in reducing tea bushes to an even surface, hut 

 not that it can supersede the discriminating human 

 hand in plucking. — Ed.1 



A IMAeniNK FOR AVrrHEHtNc; .\nd Fini\o Tka Lkaves 

 was thus recently ihiscribed by the London correspond- 

 ent of the Indian Tea Guzittc: — "Were I n-it bound by 

 promise — owing to the exigencies of the Patent Laws — 

 not to anticipate, by prematurely disclosing them, cert- 

 ain starthng inventions, it would interest your readers 

 to learn of a new departure in tea-drying aud withering, 

 which will shortly be announced. I am not permitted, 

 however, to do more at present than merely hint at the 

 facts,andniURtreservefor a riper occasion any statements 

 in detail. Suffice it, that the prospect is that of almost 

 a revolution in the present system of drying, and the 

 appliances will commend themselves to /«rgc concerns, 

 the expense being very gr^at in the first instance. It is 

 as.serted that leaf can be withered in from oue aud a 

 half to two hours, and fired in 15 minutes atatemper- 

 ature of only 200*. In wet weather the rain water is 

 driven |off in 15 minutes preparatory to the withering 

 process. The dryers are made in two sizes, aud these 

 turn out four maunds and ten maunda of tea per hour, 

 respectively. Neither in the driving off of the rain- 

 water or in the withering, is there any sigin of the 

 slightest laceration of haf, ''stewing,"' *' scorching,"' 

 discol'juration, or other injury or deleterious effects, 

 as tested alreinly in a number of experiments with 

 privet leave.s. The dryer has the power to "fire" at 

 any desiied temperature, at the option and uudei the 

 control of the operator, and whilst "it will effectually 

 fire its charge of tea at 200' F. in 15 minutes, it is 

 equally effective at a lower temperature. pro\ided, of* 

 course, longer time is allowed ; or if a higher temper- 

 ature is adopted, it will dry proportionately quicker."' 

 You will remember that some months back I imformed 

 you of a new withering appliance containing a Black- 

 man Air-propeiler in its construction. The appliances 

 I am now alluding to also make use of these pro- 

 pellers botli in firing and withering, but the procea.3 

 is not the .same as that I then referred to. The 

 principle I hinted at so far back as my letter to 

 you of tlie 27th flfareh last, since which date avast 

 amount of scientific acumen has been brought to bear 

 upon this new method, both from the chemical and 

 mechanical sides of the .subject ; and the scientific 

 data collected and made use of in the construction, 

 whilst bringing theory to ripe perfection in pract.ie<r, 

 deserves to be rewarded witli success. It will soon 

 be before the world to be judged upon its merits, and 

 as withering in rainy weather is a terrible hu.siness 

 at present, there is every rea.son to hope that this 

 new appliance will prove in practice upon the gardens 

 all that its inventors expect from their trials with 

 privet. 



