372 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



November 25, 1911. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING AND 



STRAINING LIME JUICE. 



Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic Station, 



Dominica, has submitted a note on ihe E.xpress Sirain- 



injr Machine, used for separating lime juice from the 



pulp and seeds. This is as follows:— 



' A new feature in the working of lime e.states lias been 

 introduced by Mr. H. A. Frsmpton, Attorney of the Bath 

 estate, Dominica. It con.sists of a mechanical means for 

 separating lime juice from the pulp and seed.s— a boon real 

 ized best by those who have most to do with the handHng of 

 large quantities of lime juice. The device is very simple 

 and has given every satisfaction on the five or more estates 

 now using it, in Dominica. 



The essential parts are a fi.xed cylindrical copper sieve 

 of a fine mesh, roughly 3 feet long and having a diameter of 

 about 1 foot, through the middle of which there passes 

 a revolving axle, on which are fixed four brushes re.sembling 

 scrubbinglsrushes. The brushes are arranged so as to keep 

 the pores of the sieve always clear, and are placed at such an 

 angle that the refu.se is ejected at the end, the clear juice 

 running out at the spout. The fine copper gauze is strength- 

 ened by being enclosed within a perforated copper sheet. 



All parts in contact with the juice are of wood, gun-metal 

 or copper. About 300 gallons per hour can be treated; this is 

 equivalent to about 40 barrels of limes. The axle may be 

 rotated by the same power as is used for driving the mill, and 

 the juice is led from the mill and into the hopper by gravi- 

 tation. . 



The price for the machine complete is £'20, an extra 

 copper cylinder can be obtained for £2, and the brushes cost 

 \2x. per dozen. The manufacturer is Mr. T. A. Siddall, 31, 

 Duke Street, Aldgate, London, E C, and the agent in the 

 West Indies is Mr. H. A. Frainpton, Dominica. 



Mr. Jones also draw's attention to, and sends an 

 illustration of, a lime-crushing mill, made by the same 

 firm, costing .£o(), for hand or power, and tneasuring 

 for shipment (irj feet (i inches; the agent for this in 

 Dominica, is the same as for the above. In doing so, 

 Mr. Jones states: — 



The mill shown is capable of dealing with a large crop 

 when driven by power, and it can be used as a hand mill 

 during the early years of a lime estate, when crops are small. 

 Hitherto, the lime planter, when his trees began to bear, 

 bad to purchase a hand mill, which had to be discarded as 

 crops increased, or he had to erect the permanent mill, and 



provide power to drive it, years before the output of crop 

 warranted the expenditure Now the planter can purchase 

 a mill which can be driven by hand power for a period, and 

 afterwards, when the crop warrants iliis, the form of power that 

 he decides to utilize may be installed. 



On the whole, to begin with, the purchase of a perma- 

 nent mill, capable of being driven to suit the circumstances 

 of planters, would appear to prevent the unnecessary locking 

 up of capital, and make for economy in the management of 

 lime estate. 



RED SORREL AS A FIBRE PLANT. 



This species [Hi/jiscus SaUlariifix] is cultivated all over 

 India (except in the hills), and in Ceylon. It is also exten- 

 sively cultivated in Jamaica for tibre, and in the West Indies 

 generally, for the calyx. The height of the plants varies with 

 the cultivation, but may reach 10 feet. They branch pro- 

 fusely, the branches arising from the base and remaining 

 parallel to the main stem, which is not mudi stouter than the 

 branches. 



The stems are retted in the same manner as those of 

 //. cannalnnvs. The fibres are silky and fine, but apparently 

 not 80 strong as those of //. cannahiniis; the breaking strain 

 of the latter is given by Wiesner as 115, whereas that of 

 //. Siiilarifa is only 89. 



The following description of the fibre is taken from 

 Dodge's Descriptive Caialo/jue of the Useful Fibre Plants of 

 the World: — 



'A superb sample of this fibre was shown in the exhibit of 

 British Guiana, W.C.E., 1893, which was accompanied by the 

 stalks, some 10 feet;.,high, as .straight and clean as jute stalks. 



'The fibre was equal, if not superior, to much of the jute 

 which comes to this i;ountry. In my examination for award 

 it was given the following rating: length, 90 points; strength, 

 75 points; average 81().' 



Most of the descriptions and statements concerning 

 J/. Sabdarijlh or Roselle refer to a plant with red stems and 

 red calices. In a few accounts mention is made of a variety 

 with a white calyx, but no description is given. It is some- 

 times said to be less acid than the red variety. No other 

 forms are referred to in the literature. We have at Pusa 

 isolated not only the red and the white varieties but the 

 intermediate forms. These are [tartly red, but in each the 

 localization of the colour is dilfercnt. (From Memoirs of 

 the Department of Agriridture in India, Vol. IV, No. 2, 

 p. 30.) 



