854 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June i, 1886, 



Indian Tea Phospfxts. — Prospects are reported to 

 h»vo sliglitly imjiroved iu the tea itistricis, a fair 

 quautiiy of rain kaviug fallen in Kachar and Assam, 

 although more W"uld be still acceptable. There has 

 also been rain iu Darjiling, and the .gardens in that 

 district are generally doing well, except where damafire 

 has been done by hail. Some rain has also fallen in 

 the Terai and the Dooars, hut more is still wanted. 

 No public sale has yet been held, as only about l,50O 

 chests have arrived in t'alcutta, the greater part of 

 which was sent forward to London. An invoice of 

 OS psckages from the Spring Side Tea Oompauy, 

 Limited, was sold privately last week at an avei;i.;^i- of 

 ten annas six pies per pound against an average of 

 eleven annas four pies for the first invoice last year 

 sold about the same time, and of very similar quality. 

 — Ptoneefj May 7th. 



The Alleged Deteriokation op Ceylon Teas 

 AND YorNu .4ND Old ESTATES. — It Cannot certainly 

 be that any deterioration found in Ceylon teas 

 can be attributed to the states getting older, for 

 by far the larger proportion of the teas must be 

 maiden crops. Mr. Sharpe of Calcutta said the 

 other day what is very true, that in a falling tea 

 market (and we well know how the same has often 

 been experienced in respect of coffee) fault is al- 

 ways found with the teas. But as a proof that 

 any deterioration is not due to estates losing their 

 first " bloom," we are told how some of the oldest 

 estates in Assam gave the very best teas they 

 ever turned out (from their old fields) last season, 

 and how London Tea authorities confessed the 

 said teas were as good as they could wish for. — 

 Since writing the above, we have received the 

 letter from Messrs. Geo. White & Co. published 

 elsewhere, and which we commend to the atten- 

 tion of tea-plan ters. 



Good News for Coffee Planters. — Every year 

 when coffee is prepared for shipment, they 

 separate the pulp from the seed, or rather 

 the pulp that covers the seeds. That pulp which 

 is thrown away and so wasted contains sullicient 

 saccharine matter to become fermented and to give 

 by distillation a kind of spirit or brandy which 

 cartainly could he utilised and give a good return. 

 Experiments made in Pondicherry, by the Govern- 

 ment botanist, have given such good results that 

 we have the pleasure of calling the attention of 

 the coffee-planters to that new source of revenue 

 which might repay thom a part of the expenses 

 of management, if not giving them a large profit. 

 Such large quantity of pulp is thrown awayevery 

 year that the way of turning it into money must 

 be welcome. The Pondicherry botanist, Monsieur 

 J. Kaymand, has made his first expernient on 10 

 quarts of saccharine juice, and has obtained 1">0 

 grammes or more than J lb. of good alcohol of 

 in deg. centigrade proof. That first experiment 

 gives a return proportionate of one and half per 

 cent. This result may appear small, but we must 

 remember that small rivulets make rivers, and 

 working on a large scale may give results quite 

 worth the serious attention of the planters. — 

 Madras Stamhird. 



A New Dr.viNO Machine. — Notices of drying 

 machines are so thoroughly at home in these 

 columns that no excuse is necessary for describing 

 that lately constructed by Messrs. Thomas ISana- 

 clough iV- Co., Limited, of Manchester, although 

 in this case its original purpose was for drying 

 librous and general materials rather than tea. 

 The aim of this apparatus is to obtain the greatest 

 amount of drying capacity with the least expenditure 

 of power and fuel lor heating, by the passing 

 through the machine of rcrij kiiiir quantities of dry 

 warm air freely, so that immediately it becomes 

 impregnated with moisture it passes out of the 



machine, and makes way for a fresh supply of dry 

 air. The exhauster is of great power, and supplies 

 a simple means for removing large volumes of air 

 quickly and cheaply, and the heating apparatus 

 enables large volumes of air to be dried and warmed 

 for use in the chamber. The exhausters used in 

 connection with these machines vary in size, say, 

 from 24 inches to 48 inches diameter, according 

 to the size of the drying machine ; each indicated 

 horsepower applied in driving these exhausters has 

 been proved by repeated practical experiments to be 

 capable of moving l.'),000 cubic feet of air per 

 minute, as compared with 2,000 cubic feet moved 

 under the like conditions by a fan. — H. d- C. Mail. 



Plantino in Johore.— Our correspondent now in 

 the Far East writes us : — .\s a rider to my letter 

 on Johore, I may mention that ilr. McGregor 

 Smith, of Hong Kong, has just had his concession 

 for 70,000 acres of land in Johore renewed. The 

 giant had expired last November, but has been 

 revived. The large tract of land, which is situated 

 on the upper parts of the Johore and Muar Rivers, 

 has been granted free, Mr. Smith only having to 

 pay the survey fees. These, however, amount to 

 the respectable sum of $20,000, and pertain to Mr. 

 Garland, the State Surveyor. $7,000 have already 

 been paid, and the survey is to be commenced im- 

 mediately. Speculation is rife as to who is pro- 

 viding the money for the considerable outlay that 

 will be required to work even a small part of 

 the large concession, which is to be planted with 

 coffee and sugar. Mr. Gibson, formerly of Ceylon, 

 and who has been some time in Johore, has been 

 engaged as manager. Report also his it that a 

 company is very soon to be brought out in London 

 to purchase Mr. Watson's estates. It is proposed 

 to carry on the riOO acres of Liberian coffee already 

 planted, and the balance of the 1,278 acres will 

 be devoted to cultivating Rheea (China grass) and 

 otlier fibrous plants, which will be treated after Mr. 

 Death's recently invented process, I would hope 

 that the China people who unfortunately, have been 

 ■' caught " in .Johore, will not relinquish the field. 

 They have not been on tlie right tract before, but 

 there are many projects which are worth cultivat- 

 ing and in which there is money. — /.. (('■ ('. K.vprei-'. 



Tea Machinery. — The planting community is 

 indebted to " Peppercorn " for drawing forth an 

 interesting letter from proprietors of the " Colombo 

 Iron Works": the chief, indeed, only complete, 

 Iron Works in the island. Notwithstanding the 

 criticism of " Peppercorn's " idea, we quite agree with 

 him that a Show-Rooni in which all the machines 

 — good, bad and indifferent — connected with Tea 

 Preparation can be seen and compared under one 

 roof, will erelong become a necessity. It is scarcely 

 jierhaps to be expected that any one private firm 

 should undertake this Exhibition ; but it may be 

 well worth the consideration of the Planters' 

 Association, whether its Committee should not 

 arrange for some such Show-Room to which paten- 

 tees might be invited to send specimen machines, 

 and where all could be seen under impartial aus- 

 pices. As the Tea Industry becomes the power in 

 the land which we expect it to be. there may 

 be full scope and means lor the P. A. to do what 

 we suggest, although it may seem premature just at 

 present. — As regards letters aiul newspaper notices 

 of new inventions, it has always been our piactice 

 as that of leading journals all over the world, to 

 notice and encourage new inventions up to a certain 

 point, and. perhaps, no Tea machinery received 

 more attention or notice in the Indian and Ceylon 

 Press than " Jackson's " patents up to the time 

 when their fitness for their work became fully 

 established in public esteem. 



