426 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [December i, 1887. 
India, aud are being rapidly absorbed or amalgama- 
ted. It is these large plantations with ample capital, 
improved machinery, and the most expert supervi- 
sion, that are controlling the London market ; and 
the little farmer with his two or three mow of ground 
on a hillside in Hupeh, caunot hope to compete with 
them, la India the leaf is fired the day it is picked, 
and all its strength and aroma are preserved.* Iu China 
the packer of the tea sets himself up in the country 
village, and the small farmers come in from all round 
each with his picul or two of leaf, and as soon as the 
teaman has collected enough for a chop, he fires aud 
packs it, days having probably elapsed since it was 
picked, while the farmer was haggling over the price. 
The teamen would scorn to use the machinery for 
firing and sorting which have been found so use- 
ful in Iudia ; they stand on the ancient ways, only 
anxious to get their teas as quickly as possible to 
market, the time of arrival being a more potent fac- 
tor than the quality in extracting a profit from the 
foreigner. The most effective remedy for the present 
condition of the trade would be to allow foreigners to go 
freely into the interior, andintroduce the modern methods 
of preparing the leaf for market. But the jealousy 
of the people and officials is too great to allow us to 
expect this concession at present. It is not to be 
supposed that the plant itself has deteriorated in China. 
The leaf no doubt is as good as it ever was, though 
it might still be improved by more scientific cultiv- 
ation ; but this we cannot know until expert foreigners 
are encouraged to go up to the tea districts, and 
Jearn for themselves how the leaf is grown and picked 
now, and are invested with authority to point out 
to the growers what improvements in the cultivation 
they should introduce. Failing this concession, it 
would be worth the Goverment's while to send a de- 
putation of intelligent Chinese to India to inspect 
the methods in use there. The Indian Government 
would, without doubt, give them every facility to learn 
what are the arts by which they are being beaten, 
and they might on their return induce their country- 
men to co-operate in the introduction of some system 
equivalent to the Indian plantation system. The 
Chinese, though conservative by nature, are quick 
and apt to learn when their pockets are involved, 
and even the farmers in the country must begin to 
see that some reform is necesary. Minor improve- 
ments, such as more care in firing and packing, and 
less hurry in bringing the teas to market, should be 
made concurrently, but more drastic measures are 
required to re-establish the trade on its old basis, 
and these the Yamen will soon learn from the answers 
it will receive to its application, through the Inspector- 
General, to the Chambers of Commerce. 
: — ♦ — 
TEA : A WOOD-CONSUMING STOVE FOE THE 
GIBBS AND BARRX TEA-DRIER. 
A few days ago we had the privilege of inspecting 
the working of a model of a stove designed by Mr. 
Gibbs for the employment of wood as fuel for drying 
tea in the Gibbs and Barry Drier. This stove was 
constructed some years ago, but was set aside in de- 
ference to prejudices then existing, in favour of the 
stove for coke now in use. When we were told, pre- 
paratory to viewing the stove at work, that we should 
see fuel, composed of one part of coke to eight parts 
of wood, burned in such a manner that the prod 'cts of 
coml.ustion thereof would be sufficiently innocuous 
and free from smell to permit of the drying o; tea by 
direct application of these products of combustion, we 
confess to having found the demand upon our credulity 
lather a "big contract." The great economy of this fuel 
as compared with "all coke" was of course manifest, 
aud an enticing prospect truly ; nevertheless we confess 
that it required all our faith, even in Mr. Gibbs, to 
meet the aforesaid demand. To our readers we can 
but tfive our own experience as derived at the trial 
of this woikirift model, and if the result staggers 
* H;;ircely: the withering process alone occupies 
from 2 l to 48 hour-), after which some hours are oc- 
cupied in the rolling and fermenting processes, before 
Un < j is commenced.— Ed. 
them, it shall be from no exaggeration on our part. 
A description of the stove it is unnecessary to give, 
as the stoves now in use can be converted at a trif- 
ling cost of a few pouuds to act upon the principle 
of this model. It is merely necessary to mention 
that a feeding-hopper aud flue have to be added 
to the coke stoves in such a manner that the charge 
of coke can be dropped in from above, and 
the wood then dropped upon the coke ; one charge 
of coke sufficing for eight consecutive charges of 
wood afterwards. To be strictly accurate, this pro- 
portion commences after the first four ebarges of 
wood have been consumed, as after the top half of 
the first charge of coke has been consumed an- 
other whole charge of coke is required (owing to 
details connected with levels, after which eight 
charges of wood follow ; then one charge of coke, 
then eight more charges of wood, and so on. In 
the case of the model, we saw the charges all 
weighed, and the result justified what we had been 
led to antcipateby Mr, Gibbs. The wood destroyed 
was three-parts last year's wood and one-fourth 
green, cut from the tree the same morning, and full 
of sap. From the trial we should judge that the 
proportion above mentioned will only be maintained 
when fairly dry wood is used; still, the saving in 
the differnce between wood and coke is so consider- 
able that, even though the above proportion were 
greatly reduced, the economy would still be very serious. 
Having weighed the charges of wood and coke, 
we saw Mr. Gibbs drop the charge of ooke down 
the hopper or flue. "But how about the lighting? " 
we naturally asked, as the coke disappeared from 
view. " Wait a bit, and you shall see," was the 
reply. Having dropped the coke into the cold stove, 
he next dropped in a charge of wood. Still no light ! 
Next, however, he pushed down some paper, and 
the reason for this " laying the fire upside-down " at 
once became apparent ; as he applied a match to 
the paper, and ordered the fan — placed as usual— to 
be turned on. The only ingress for air was down 
that hopper, through the interstices between the bits 
of wood and hits of coke. The suction produced by 
the fan drew down — up, we were going to say — a roar- 
ing fire, igniting first all the wood and then all the 
coke within about six minutes. Until the coke was 
fairly ignited, a very little smoke passed out of the 
air-duct just at first, followed for a few moments by 
a perception of sulphur and pyroligneous acid when 
one applied one's nose, mouth and eyes to the full 
force of the blast ; but when the coke was thoroughly 
ignited there was no trace — marvellous to say ! — of 
either sulphur or pyroligneous acid perceptible to 
either smell, taste, or even by any smarting of the 
eyes. Charge after charge of wood was added and 
consumed in turn, and not even when the charge of 
freshly-cut sappy wood was added was there any 
trace of pyroligneous acid by the above tests ! The 
hot air was exceedingly " dry," and the temperature 
of the blast just at the point of leaving the fan was 
kept between 430° and 450° throughout. The green 
wood, when added, produced a momentary decline 
to the 430°, above which, however, the temperature 
soon rose again as the green wood ignited. The 
" purity," so far as smell and taste could test it, of 
the hot air was indeed surprising. Chemical hypo- 
thesis for this purity we will not venture upon. 
Whether the water in the sap becomiug decomposed, 
liberates sufficient oxygen to decompose the sulphur- 
ous and pyroligneous acids, or whether the ammonia 
plays a prominent part iu their neutralization, we will 
not pretend to say. This much is certaiu, that coke 
and wood burned separately give off products 
which are decomposed or neutralized when the two 
are burned together under the conditions described 
above. If these conditions produce the same results 
when the experiment is tried on a working scale, 
with the working air draught, then this discovery is 
indeed a valuable one. At present no fall-sized stove 
with regulation-sized fan has been tested ; till then 
there is, of course, an opening 1 for doubt. Meantime 
the working results of this model stove justify the 
fullest measure of hope. 
