MANUAL OF THE NTLAGIRI DISTRICT. 541 



The iron plate should bo 24 to 28 inches, and from -f'jr to f inches CH. XXIX. 

 thick. Cast-iron plates procured from England are the best. ip^Z 



The plates cast in this country are alwaj'^s uneven in thickness 



throughout, and, from the hardness of the metal, liable to crack 

 right across. Wrought iron plates heat more readily, but from 

 their expansion and contraction in proportion as they are 

 influenced by heat or cold require to be more strongly fixed in 

 the masonry. A good compound for plastering the inside face 

 of the walls of the furnaces may be made as follows : — 4 parts 

 soorkee, 4 best stiff clay, 1 lime. Some planters use ordinary 

 lime and sand, tempered with water infused with gall-nuts and to 

 which jaggeiy and white of eggs have been added ; but I have 

 my doubts as to the efficacy of this mixture. 



Above the plate, which should have an exposed surface of from ~<3i7'iig off. 

 15 to 18 inches square, the masonry sides may widen out rapidly 

 to the same dimensions at top as the trays that are about to be 

 laid over them. The best size for the trays is 2 feet 6 inches 

 square. The lowest tray is but half the depth of the upper 

 ones, and the bottom is of block tin or zinc. Whenever any of 

 the upper trays are drawn out, either to be filled or to have the 

 tea they contain rearranged, this bottom tray is drawn out 

 simultaneously with the other to catch all the dust and pekoe 

 tips that fall through the wire gauze ; otherwise these would fall 

 upon the heated iron, and communicate a burnt flavour to the teas 

 that were drying above. When the upper tray has been returned, 

 the bottom tray is drawn out, and either laid on the top of the 

 set or aside, as may be most convenient. A slab of wood covers 

 the mouth to retain the heat. 



The three upper trays are those which contain the leaf that 

 is to be dried off. These are about 3 inches in depth, and 

 the bottom of each covered with fine well-stretched galvanized 

 iron wire gauze. The leaf to be dried should be spread over 

 these drawers from 1 to 1^ inches thick, commencing with the 

 bottom drawer. When the tea in the bottom drawer has begun 

 to get dry, i.e., when all fear of further fermentation has passed 

 away, the drawer may change places with the empty one above 

 it, and the latter be filled with fresh leaf. When almost dry, 

 the same change may be effected with the uppermost drawer, 

 the latter being placed lowest to receive fresh leaf. When the 

 tea in the top drawer is thoroughly dried, it may be removed, 

 and the same process continued until all the leaf in hand has been 

 dried off". 



The man who superintends the drying off* must first ascertain, 

 by placing his hand inside the mouth-place of the bottom drawer, 

 that the furnaces have been heated to a proper degree. There 



