MAN U FACTU RE . 1 1 9 



I have already spoken of one of McMeekin's inventions. 

 His chest-of-drawers for firing Tea is, I think, superior to 

 his batten table. It is now so well known, and in such 

 general use, that I shall describe it very shortly. It is 

 nothing more than a low chest-of-drawers, or trays fitted in 

 a frame one above the other, the bottom of each tray being 

 fine iron wire, so that the heat of the charcoal, in the 

 masonry receptacle over which it is placed, ascends through 

 all the drawers and thus dries or fires a large quantity of 

 " roll " at the same time. By the old plan, a single wicker 

 sieve was inserted inside a bamboo frame called a " dhole," 

 which was placed over a charcoal fire made in a hole in the 

 ground. On the sieve the roll was placed, and all the heat, 

 after passing through this one sieve, was wasted. Mr. 

 McMeekin's idea was to economise this heat by passing it 

 through several drawers. 



Most planters use these drawers, and there is no doubt 

 in the space saved, and the economy of heat : it is a great 

 step in advance over the old barbarous method, where not 

 only was the heat wasted after passing through one sieve, 

 but a great deal was lost through the basket work of the 

 " dhole " itself. 



Still I do not advocate four, still less five drawers one 

 above the other. I think the steam ascending from the 

 lower drawers must, more or less, injure the roll in the upper 

 ones. I confine myself to two, and even then in the top 

 tray leave a small circular space vacant by which the steam 

 from the lower drawer can escape. I utilize the heat that 

 escapes, partially, by placing " dhallas " in tiers above, with 

 roll in them. These are supported by iron rods let into the 

 wall, and are useful not only for partly drying the roll, but 

 also for withering leaf when there is no sun. 



Some planters have proposed to do away with charcoal 

 altogether under McMeekin's drawers, supplying its place 



