64 OSIERS AND WILLOWS 



heated by means of a 12 h.p. Cornish boiler, which 

 not only provided the steam for boiling the water in 

 each tank, but also pumped the cold water from a well 

 for filling both the boiler and tanks and furnished the 

 heat required for drying the buff. 



For heating by steam, the coils of copper piping that 

 lie along the bottom of the tank should be hinged, so 

 as to allow them to be raised up either from the end or 

 side for the purpose of removing the sediment which 

 accumulates between the pipes and on the bottom of 

 the tank. Attention to these details will be rewarded 

 by the brighter colour of the buff. 



Of the five tanks referred to above, only two had 

 flues fixed underneath, and either or both of these 

 could be fired at a less cost than putting steam on. 

 The object of placing flues underneath is to afford 

 another means of heating in the event of the steam 

 boiler going wrong. 



It is preferable to complete the buffing before the bark 

 dries, but if this is not possible, the rods may be buffed 

 by putting the rods in cold water when the bark has set 

 and then by boiling them as indicated above. 



The average price for first-quality growth of one- 

 year-old green in the winter of 1915-16 was 5 per ton. 

 Three tons of green when boiled give one ton of buff, 

 and, taking the cost of the coal and labour, including 

 a foreman, to be about 6 los. per ton, the net cost 

 of producing a ton of buff will be 21 IDS. The sale 

 price generally shows a good profit. 



Tanks for Boiling. In addition to the two styles 

 described under the heading " Boiling," there are less 

 expensive methods of meeting these requirements. The 

 sizes are entirely dependent upon the area and quantity 

 of material the grower intends to buff annually. A 



