142 THE BANANA 



of fourteen trucks can be easily moved by hand when 

 necessary to advance them in order to take out a truck of 

 fully dried material at one end and introduce at the other 

 end one of fresh produce. 



Each truck has 144 square feet of carrying surface, and 

 will contain from 5 to 10 cwt. of produce. The drier, 

 fully charged, would therefore accommodate from 18 to 

 36 tons. Taking a safe average of 20 tons, the plant would 

 treat 10 tons of wet produce per day, allowing two full 

 days for the passage of each car through the building. 

 This would require a comparatively very low temperature 

 a great advantage when it is necessary to avoid as far 

 as possible all risk of loss of flavour or essential oils. Any 

 increase in temperature would, of course, increase the 

 output by shortening the time occupied in drying. 



The building illustrated on p. 143 is 19 ft. wide and 

 6 ft. 6 in. high, to take five rows of trucks ; and if made 

 100 ft. long, to take fourteen trucks in each row, it would 

 be large enough to turn out, easily, five tons of copra per 

 day, and bananas, cacao, rubber, &c., in proportion. 



The whole plant is supplied complete by the Wirewove 

 Roofing Company, 108 Queen Victoria Street, London, 

 E.G., including a foreman to supervise and assist the 

 installation. 



Seventy trucks, containing 2500 trays, together with the 

 steam pipes, weigh 30 tons, and the cost is 800. If a 

 boiler is required, a sectional boiler is recommended 

 Handley's water tube boiler, which can be conveniently 

 carried in sections ; it weighs in all 6 tons, and costs 250. 

 An ordinary boiler would cost only 100, but it would 

 probably weigh 20 tons, and is therefore inconvenient for 

 handling. A man is sent out to put the plant in working 

 order ; his expenses for the voyage and 165. per day would 

 be charged to the purchaser. The present position of the 

 banana-drying industry would not justify a large capital 

 expenditure, but if it were possible to combine it with the 

 drying of copra on a large scale, this system may well be 

 adopted as being practical. 



