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2he Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



compartments. They are so close-fitting that 

 they just manage to pass in and stand in several 

 rows one above the other. In Vaitelu the kiln 

 has 200 trays each with 6 lb. of copra; in Vaivase 

 the trays stand in 4 compartments each of the 

 latter with seven trays on its floor and thirteen 

 one over the other. In Apia the kiln has only 

 two compartments each with 9 trays on its 

 floor 18 one over the other. As soon as the com- 

 partments are filled with trays the doors are 

 closed and drying begins. The hot air rushes 

 from the heating-room through the wire-netting 

 and through all the trays and goes out through 

 an opening above. Fresh air enters the heating- 

 room generally through several small openings 

 in the masonry of the same and so at very little 

 distance above the ground. In the latest type 

 of kiln the air enters by a shallow canal built 

 on to the heat-caual and running over it. In 

 this there are several openings for the air to 

 escape. The fresh air enters this canal through 

 an opening above the fire. Here it is imme- 

 diately heated and straight away enters the 

 heating-room. Every such kiln dries about 

 1,700 lb. copra in twenty four hours and so25tons 

 per month. The heat is about 50deg. C. Near 

 the kiln-proper there is on three sides a wooden 

 floor which is reached by a stair-way. On this 

 floor is spread out the hot copra just taken from 

 the kiln to be cooled, and at the same time to 

 give off any moisture remaining. If the copra 

 is not spread out to be gradually dried and 

 cooled and if it is not at the same time well 

 turned up by the shovel, it grows mouldy. 

 When this process is carefully followed the 

 copra is beautifully white and pays much better 

 than the South Seas article. 



The cost of a kiln runs to about 6,000 or 7,000 

 marks. It may here be remarked that the 

 material for the piping can be obtained in 

 sheets which may be cut and rivetted in Samoa 

 itself. The kilns which have been described 

 suffer from two disadvantages. They exclude 

 the co-operation of the sun in drying and do 

 not allow of the copra being turned in the 

 trays except in very limited quantities. It 

 must nevertheless be admitted that they serve 

 their purpose splendidly and in a comparatively 

 small space, at little cost and with the service 

 of only a few hands yield a maximum of work. 



On the Arle estate a kiln has been built with 

 h.ot>water apparatus but its working is very 



defective. Coconut shells are used as fuel and 

 these burn so quickly underneath that their 

 heat is not sufficient. Besides the pipes in 

 which the hot-water circulates are so thickly 

 covered in a short time with the soot given off 

 by the shells that the flames cannot come into 

 direct contact with the pipes." 



The following sketches give an idea of the 

 construction of drying-houses for copra in 

 German jNew Guinea. As is evident from the 

 drawing, the principle is really the same as 

 that of the Samoan drying-sheds described by 

 Professor Preuss except that in those built in 

 1908 the following improvements have been 

 introduced : — 



1. Increase of heating power in the shed by 

 doubling the number of pipes in which the hot 

 air need travel but a little distance and so loses 

 less of its heating-power. 



2. The avoidance as much as possible in 

 the pipes of angles which favour the collection 

 of soot. 



3. Making it feasible to turn over the copra 

 in the hurdles. (Model II). 



4. The co-operation of the sun for drying by 

 day, the influence of artificial heat in rainy 

 weather and at night. (Model II). 



5. Increased draught by having the heating 

 flues at an incline. 



6. The possibility of having only half the 

 shed working when under repair or when there 

 is not copra enough to keep all the chambers 

 going. 



7. By division into separate chambers obtain- 

 ing the full benefit of the heat which is genera- 

 ted which easily reaches all the trays. 



8. Few attendants : two men. 



9. The disadvantage of such a drying-shed 

 (Model 1) lies in the fact that there is no simul- 

 taneous drying of the copra thus spread out in a 

 mass, whereas the copra lower down dries more 

 quickly than that in the upper trays and where- 

 as also the removal of the dried copra at the 

 proper time demands earnest and careful work 

 and attention. 



At a temperature of 50C. the drying process 

 occupies 1 to 2 days according to the amount of 

 moisture contained in the copra. The cost of 

 erecting the kiln amounts to about 6,000 marks. 



