sion of this power may be regulated afc will by more or less 

 obstructing the entrance of air to the air-chamber by the 

 damper. The upper floor is not supposed to be an air-tight 

 apartment, but as the chief entrance of air is by the two doors 

 in the end, its influx may be so far obstructed by closing 

 them as to throw the greater part of the power of the fans 

 on the coffee which is on the ground-floor, when this is re- 

 quired. Again, since it is obvious that, in wet weather, when 

 the atmosphere is fully saturated with moisture proportionate 

 to its temperature, it becomes a desideratum to introduce a 

 portion of the artificially heated air into the vacant space 

 which is over the coffee in the upper floor, so that the air 

 which passes down through that coffee may have an absorb- 

 ing tendency ; this is accomplished by shutting the doors of 

 the upper floor and throwing open the top-covering of the 

 fan. By this means one-half of the air which is drawn from 

 the stove is thrown in above the coffee in the upper floor, 

 whilst the other half is discharged altogether. This infusion 

 of heated air would on many occasions be attended with 

 benefit, but the advantage will naturally depend on the com- 

 parative state of dryness of the coffee on the two floors. 



In having recourse to these practical modifications some 

 little judgment and observation are of more service than pre- 

 cept. It will be found, for instance, that if the coffee in the 

 upper floor approaches the dry stage, it is better in wet 

 weather to shut the doors of that floor as well as the tops of 

 the fans, so that only a small flittering of air sufficient to 

 ward off the first stages of decomposition may pass through 

 that coffee, whilst the wet coffee below has the full benefit of 

 a more rapid circulation of absorbent air. 



Attention may now be directed to the practical results 

 which these arrangements have afforded in the curing of 

 coffee. 



The coffee in the upper floor, as the crop advanced, gra- 



