6 Id TttE TROPICAL AGRtCULTURlS*t. [March i. 1894. 
terested will sbortlj have an opportanity of 
tes'.ing for themselves the quality o£ the proJuoe 
and as the exhibition will last only one day which 
has yet to be fixed, it is hoped that as many as 
possible will avail themselves of it. The Oom- 
missionera have a vast extent of territory to get 
over yet and they are anxious to pu-^h on as rapidly 
as possible. In a conversation which one of 
our representatives had with them they ex- 
jiressed themselves very muoh gratified with 
the manner in which they had been r^'ceived by 
the Government officials they bad waited upon, as 
well as others particularly men'i jning the Hin. Mr. 
Keid, Principal OoUeotor of Customs, ami Mr. Mason 
from whom they had reoeivej every facility for 
the removal of their samples. Mr. R»deii of the 
Grand Oriental Hotel, where the OommisBioners are 
staying, has kindly^undertaken to sup rvise the ar- 
rangements in oonnectioa with the luiiche')a which 
is to be served on the ocsasion of the Exhibition. 
Qiiestioned with regard to the propoial to establish 
freezing chambers for meat at Colombo the Com- 
missioners said they had reason to believe that 
if the contract for supplying the Army could be 
secured — and they thought the general European 
community would also give their support — private 
enterprise would be ready to take up the matter 
As a centre for supplying other places Cjlombo 
poesessed immense advantages, and if only the 
thing were started they believed that a very ex- 
tensive and paying business could be done. As 
showing the vastness of the frozen meat trade in 
Australia, Mr. Kelly mentioned thai one firm 
alone had storage for 35,000 carcases and could 
turn out 1,200 a day. We notice from an article 
in the Asian that the Government of India has 
ooncliided an arrangement with one of the 
Colonial meat preserving companies for the 
gupply of a certain quantity of tinned meat and 
mutton for the use of the European troops in 
Buoh oantouments where the local supply during 
the hot weather and rains is either insuffioient or 
too interior a quality to put before the men. 
THE LARGEST TE4 FACTORY IN CE.YLON. 
A VISIT TO GAI/AHA TEA FACTORY. 
(By our own '■• Inspector,'') 
" Tea " is a small word, but it has much 
greater interest to us than the size of the word 
would suggest. We in this island are, however, not 
the only iuhabi tan's of the world interested in the 
word : high and low, rich and poor alike of almost 
all the civilized nations feel the power of the simply 
expressed monosyllable. Its influence may be silent, 
like all great forces, but it is undeniable. Not 
many generations ago, against great odds of pre- 
judice and ignorance, we find tea introduced to 
our homes. Our maternal ancestry while mentioning 
the word under their breath found means some- 
how to get acquainted with its properties and 
to enjoy its spell, for, as has been said, in cannily 
arranged nooka and corners of the fireside, where 
no prying eye could reach, they set the dreaded 
pot, which brewed the pernicious liquid ! The 
suggestion that a person was a victim to the 
habit of tea-drinking lowered at once all respect. 
This is now all changed, step by step the qualities and 
BENEFITS OF TEA-DRINKING JIADS THEMSELVES 
felt, if not apparent. World-wide reputation and wor- 
ship has followed, and today the edict has gone forth 
that all nations must bow down before this charmer 
of our feelings. We have long ago acknowledged 
its power, and our inter. st at present centres in 
the means of preparation and despatch of tea from 
what is uudoubtedly the best equipped and largest 
manufactory of tea in Ceylon. 
It was on a beautiful day, not uncomfortably hot 
tba^ )Y© ftliglited at t'eiadeniya statioa. Here, 
we took he opportanity of aeeing the 
effects of 
THE BECENT FIBE AT THE NEW PBBAJ>BHIYA FiCTOBY. 
Rebuilding operations had commenced, ^nd a.luiost 
under the open heavens a few of the miu.hiueB 
which had only been partially destroyed and ha4 
been repaired were at work busily making le&. It 
will be seen that no time has been lost, in scekinf; 
to put new life into what became the dry bones 
of a factory. The terrible effects of fire were here 
quite apparent. Heavy beams and pillars of iron 
were twisted aud turned like wire into iuuuiuerabl* 
fantastic shapes and forms. 
From Peradeniya we drove to Galaha factory, some 
twelve miles along a most tortuous although other- 
wise good road, and arrived in time to see the 
finishing touches aud final trial given to a beautiful 
NEW ENOINB AND ENORMOUS BOILEK 
recently added to the factory, before the en^neera 
Messrs. Walker, Bona & Oc, K.»ndy, handed it over 
as ready for use. 
Tne boiler, one weighing over line torus. ' i 
dragged over this tortuous road by five ■ 
and in driving along we could not help remark I, ^ . . 
careful and persistent efforts that must have bueu exor- 
cised to have safely housed such a huge boiler. The time 
taken to haul the boiler along these 12 miles 
could not be considered slow work althuugh it took a 
fortnight, and Mr. Hall, the manager, expressed 
the opinion, in which we coucarred that it wan most 
creditable and satisfactory to have accomphshed 
the journey at all. The road is very narrow, and 
sharply winds ont and in along the side of tne 
valley of the Mahaweliganga with often a most 
precipitous front. To follow some of the twists in the 
road, jacks had to be used to cant the boiler round, 
and (he bridges on the route had to be most eub- 
stnnti.lly supported. 
However, the boiler tras safely to its place wben 
we arrived, with steam ia.'^icHtiDg betwefn 60 and 
TO lb. of presaare, ready (o fulfil the purpcse for which 
all the laboor, and, <ve Di«y add, expense, was in- 
curred. The cost, we nnSer'tioH, for bo'h boiler 
and engine will be from RN.OOO to Rlo.OOO,— ra her 
a heavy item, like the bo.lrr itiieK ! The eugio« aud 
boiler have been brought out from Eoglsnd, aud were 
manufactured by Marshall, Sons <& Cs.of G^iDeborcn^h 
and London. 
THB BOILEB IS OF THE MULTI TUBULAR TYPK, 
iviL'g a Urge heating sarfaop, as all tubular boilers 
o. Consequently the quick and e-sy rdisiua of 
Steam as well as msiitaining the prpssvire, is do 
difiBculty. When >ve were present the difficulty was to 
keep down steam, an nnusu&l ocoarrence, we tboogbt, 
with tte pump forcing water into the b ilcr, and the 
damper on. Perhaps the size of the boiler — equal to 
developing 100 horse piwer — tip'aiis the matter. 
The length of the boiler is 19 f ei t and 7 feet io 
diameter. It is p'aced in a »ep»ra'e compartment, 
about 25 feet from the engine, lu aa oulbou^e built 
against the lower end of the factory, which is bnilt 
in the form of a " T." The boiler is su^s'.atltl«lly 
built round with brick-work, and looks very comfor- 
table in its poMtioi. The furnace wonid nitnr.allv 
be expected to be" Cf pioiou", and occupies almost half 
the boiler space, althoufh not the full breadth, and iti 
"drawing" power is all that could be wishe I The smoke 
from the furnace besides paseii g through the tu^iea 
goes back beneath tbe boiler, and then branchinjt 
into two, goes along on each side, then ihrongb the 
main flue aad up the chimney. Tbe main flue from 
boiler to chimoey is about 15 feet long, the chimuey 
itself being about 60 feet high, strndrng on a neat 
base of masonry, 10 feet high. The length of flue, 
therefore, is so ?reat that there is 
NO POSSlBILIT-r OF SPARKS PASSING THEOCGH THE 
CHlMNET, 
and this certainly is in every respect an 
important advantage for safety trom fire. The 
chimney is made of wrought iron and rivetted, 
and bnilt in three seotiors. These sections had 
bean joined together, and the whole ra-sed in one 
piece by the aid of a crab- winch, without any hitch, by 
]^r. Wbitet the engiaser in charge, Aesees (o Iti^ 
