576 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



CONSOLS OF THE EAST. 



A LESSON IN PRACTICE. 

 Dear Sir, — Perhaps there are some readers of 

 your "Rubber News " who would like to hear 

 of the actual working of an estate in my charge, 

 '('he palms in partial and full bearing are about 

 80%, the young palms the remainiug 20%, The 

 manure now being applied and the system on 

 which it is done will increase the number of 

 nuts enormously. At present the average of 

 partial and full bearing trees is 45 nuts. The 

 cost of work for the past season has been as 

 follows : — 



Per Candy (J ton) 

 $ cts. 



Picking, gathering and carting ... 1 05 



Making Copra ... 1 97 



Borers, Beetles and stem disease ... 82 

 Propping ••■ 1 46 



Transport, 1/12 by cart 2/25 by rail ... 3 37 

 Weeding ... 2 63 



Roads and drains ... 20 



Manuring the estate each year) ... 7 66 

 Salaries, Visiting, Hospital, Loss on rice,"j 

 Insurance, Watchers, Lines, Wells, f „ Q „ 

 Tools, Carts and Bulls, etc. (General ( 

 Charges) ) 



27 42 



The average price for copra in Colombo for 

 the past season was about 80/- (at present it is 

 86/-), so there remains a profit of about 52/58 

 candy. Of course brokerage and Colombo agency 

 charges have to be deducted. 



An estate planted at the rate of 60 to 65 trees 

 to the acre and giving 60 nuts per tree and 

 taking 1,200 to 1,250 to the candy would give 

 150/- per acre profit equal to £10.— Yours, 



"CEYLON." 



—Grenier's Rubber hews, May 25. 



NEW PATENTS. 



Washing and Crepeing of Robber. 

 No. 1,253 of May 17, 1912.— Robert Bridge.— 

 " Improvements in machines for washing, mac- 

 erating, crepeing, and similarly treating india- 

 rubber." 



Abstract. — This invention relates to improve- 

 ments in washing, macerating, crepeing and like 

 machines employed in the treatment of india- 

 rubber, the invention particularly referring to 

 the two roller type of machine. In this class of 

 machine the object is to provide improvements 

 in means in or connected with the adjustment of 

 the rollers, means for enabling the resultant 

 rubber sheet to be guided back into the nip of 



the rollers when required and improved straining 

 arrangements for the water employed in the 

 washiug or like operations part of such improve- 

 ments consisting of a syphon arrangement to en- 

 able clear water to overflow from one machine 

 to another or to a source of water supply, a fur- 

 ther object being to prevent splashing of the 

 water on to the operator and particularly on to 

 his feet, since the water is very often mixed 

 with acetic or other acid which has a tendency 

 to injure the feet of the operator, a still further 

 object in those latter arrangements being to pre- 

 vent water splashing outside the machine at any 

 part and also to stop any oil from the roller 

 bearings passing along the rollers where it would 

 injure the rubber being treated. 



The improvements are: — (1) Shaping the nuts 

 of the roll adjusting screws with projecting arms 

 which are passed through slots in the ma- 

 chine frame, and are then rotated a quarter of a 

 revolution so that the arms engage with 

 shoulders prepared in the frame to take the 

 end thrust of the screws ; (2) making the op- 

 erating shaft which drives the worm gear 

 connecting the adjusting screws in two parts, 

 coupled by means of a clutch so as to be able to 

 operate the screws simultaneously or indepen- 

 dently for adjustment purposes ; (3) the employ- 

 ment of a hopper or tank above the rolls for 

 directing and straining the water or other wash- 

 ing liquid, a straining tank in communication 

 with it below the rollers and a further filtering 

 receptacle below that fitted with a syphoning 

 arrangement ; (4) an improved water supply 

 pipe adapted to give an ad justable sheet water 

 spray ; (5) a hinged or slidable door at the back 

 of the second trough and an anti-splash plate 

 between the second and third receptacles. Six 

 claims : two sheets of drawings. 



Manufacture of Green Tea. 



No. 1,255 of May 20, 1912.— George Croll — 

 "Improvements in themanufactureof green tea." 



Abstract. — Freshly plucked tea leaf is placed 

 in any suitable machine or receptacle as at pre- 

 sent employed and treated with superheated 

 steam produced by passing steam from any 

 boiler through heated coils or in any other well- 

 known manner, before passing it through the 

 leaf. After this treatment the leaf is passed 

 through any suitable heating or drying appa- 

 ratus before rolling to remove some of the origi- 

 nal moisture of the fresh leaf and to fix the 

 soluble constituents and produce the tough and 

 gummy condition of leaf necessary for perfect 

 rolling with a minimum production of broken tea. 

 The employment of superheated steam for the 

 purpose described and, in conjunction with it, 

 the further partial drying of the leaf before 

 the rolling process is claimed. Two claims. 

 — E. Human, Registrar of Patents.— Gazette, 



