636 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, ,894. 
TEA CURING MACHINERY. 
We would call the attention of those of oar readers 
who are engaged in the manufacture of tea to the 
extract from the Loudon Euyinter, which we give 
in another column in reference to this subject. It 
is curious to notice the views which sometimes find 
expression in the home papers regarding Indian 
matters. The process of tea manufacture, and the 
machinery in use in modern factories, has been so 
often and so fully described that we are somewhat 
surprised to see our contemporary describing, as if 
it were something new, the idea of utilizing the 
hot air from the driers, in the withering lofts. 
As is well known this has been tried fur a wry long 
time, and experience has shewn that when properly 
applied it gives good reeults under certain circuui- 
Btanoee, on cold days for in^tancu. Su far a'j wo a-c 
aware, however, far from having the wi'hering lofts 
closed agaiost the admission of any but the hot air, it 
has been found that the latter can only he a>lmitted 
very sparingly as an auxiliary to the cold air. Again, 
it ia not qnite correct to eay that in ordinary circum- 
Btaoces in tiring the tei, the rame air ia used over and 
over again. As a rule the drier furnaces are low d trn, 
near, or be'ow, the floor level, eo that the air isEu aa 
from the machine at a temperikture of .say, 200° 
would not be likely to find its way back agaiu, pro- 
vided it could find any outlet at a higher leTel, as 
it generally can. To supply the furnace and the beat- 
ing stove — the drying air does not of course pass 
through the furnace at all in modern macbinee — a 
cnrrent of cold sir find its way in through an opea 
window, or perhaps more usually through the door 
which ia generally found opposite the machine for 
convenience of getting in fael, etc. We hupo btforu 
very long to be able to begin a keries of arUcles fully 
illiiatrating tea maohioery, from the time of its first 
lutroluctiou, and we shall be Klad to receive from auy 
of our readers items which may have m hittorical 
interest regarding the subject. We caunot qnite agree 
with our contemporary in thiukiue that cnything 
like perfection baa been arrived at. N)w patents are 
continually being taken out, an 'I we look forward to 
feeeiutr manv more important improvement intrudnced. 
— Indian Engineer. 
TEA CDBINQ MACHINEBT. 
(_From London Engineer.) 
In onr issue of May 6tb, 1892, we made refcrenoe to 
the important character of the machinery that the 
competition of India and certain British Uoloaiea with 
the long-established tea trade of China had brongbt 
into use. We then wrote under the impression that 
the machinery was of so highly effective a character 
that little or nothing could be added to it to improve 
the quality of the finished tea turned out by it. B at 
it baa become known to ua that in that impression we 
were mistaken. It is true, perhaps, that as regards 
the machines themselves improvement was scarcely 
possible, but even this approach to finality did not 
overcome a tendency to inequality of production, 
which was especially noticeable at varying seasons of 
the year, humidity in the extercal atmosphere being 
responsible for a variation in this that often reduced 
the price obtained for the tea made by more than 50 
per cent. While, therefore, it appeared to be almost 
impossible to devise improvements in the machines 
themselves, it at length became manifest that some al- 
ternation of procedure was necessary if a level of quality 
Was to ba maintained. It struck an intelligent 
observer that the drying apparatus was being worked on 
a'wrot>gab initio principle. The air discharged from the 
fan drawing it through the furnace and over the tea was 
■offered to escape into the room containing the drying 
lUBohines. This air was necessarily charged with the 
nioisture extracted from the leaf during its treatment. 
And yet the same air is, under existing methods, 
suffered to re-enter the furaaoe and again pass over 
the tea trays. Hygrometrioal tests made have ehown 
th(^t this m ia cbarged up to 100 per cent with , 
humidily. On entering the furnace this b»*omea 
oeveloped into a steamv vapour most injurioaa 
to the drying lea. Manifeotly, therefore, the 
reinely most be to prevent air ai obarged from 
re-en'ry into the drjiug chamber. One estate 
which hRs made the ohsrge ba«. we are in. 
formed, found the re«uli that It^ t«aa main- 
tain an almost XenA quality throughout the vrar 
A rnrther improvemcut, it ii ■■lid, will r«'»ult fro« 
perinitt nif the air no disohargf^d from the fans fo 
play upon the tea l^af durii.K tbe preli-rioary pr^^aaa 
of witboring. At pre-ent this process u asMated 
during <1amp we«ther by passing over it a .stronir 
blast of dry beUed air The reault of this in uo 
catiofactorv, aa it pro^.^0P8 a hardnets and drvDesa 
not de«ir.b!e in this tirht ftnge of treatment, .ud it 
besides indncon a prematura fermentation bi.'hiv 
detrimental. The aygtem row propo«ed is to If ad (h« 
warm humid air discharged from tbe faos in the dfv 
lug-room to the withering chamber*, these b«inir 
made as air-liebt a« pc sdble. and havinif their only 
i«ote on tbe floor lev.>l. 80 a? tu insure tbe t-soaoe 
of tbe rolJer air only. Whiln, therefore, tbe mafhikerr 
used will remain as at present, tbe methol of workinc- 
It and the a'laptation of its issuing prnduets will 
alone be changed: and this, it in confideDtlv ex- 
pected, with most profitable results. 
BABK AND DRUG BEPOBT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, Feb. 8. 
Ci.\0Ho\A.— Tuesday's bark-auction, followlug so cloaelv 
upon the recent excitement id the qninJne-markcf was 
looked lorward to with some expectancy and io the 
confident hope of showing firm quotations. The auaulltv 
of iroo,l bark offered was xmall, the seven i catalogues In 
cluuing of; — 
Packages PuuiiageF' 
Oeylon cinchona 390 of which 149 were aold 
East Indian cinchona .<)69 do 858 do 
West Aliican .. 238 do 210 do 
Bolivian cinchona . . 41^^ ^o 4Si do 
Cuprea bark .. ,520 .lo l« do 
1016 
1162 do 
Although the supply of East Indian barks offered was 
comparatively small, the assortment wju much finer than 
nsiial ; it inclu.led several piles of excellent Leiger and 
OfiSyinalis, original, as well a« renewed. At flm com- 
peiition \\aH a little slow, but in the course of the 
auctions, and especially when hish-class barks were reached 
it becauie very lively. Good lots sold at some increase 
upon the last anction-ratps, the unit for such binds occa- 
sionally reaching Id per Ih., wuile upon an averaie it 
may be quoted at Jd to per lb. Some parcels were 
bought m because they were too hiuhly lim'te.i It may 
be remarked that the agents for the Philadelphia faetorv 
who have litfely bought very little, were todav the largest 
purchasers. • ""B"' 
The foUowing arc the approximate quantities of bark 
bought by the prmcipal buyers ;— 
Agents for the American and Italian works ^''fis'n 
Messrs. Howards & Sons . . 49 sco 
Agents for the Mannheim and Amsterdam works 21 325 
Agents for the Brunswick, factory . . . la'fOl 
Agents for the Paris factory .. is'soB 
Agents for ihc Auerbach factory . " a'ioq 
Agents for the Fraukfort-on-:he-\fain and Stutt- ' 
gart works . . _ - 
Sundry druggists 22' ''sJ 
Total quantity of bark sold.. 
Bought in or withdrawn . . 
1 94,5-3 i 
115,658 
Total quantity of bark offered . . 310.594 
West Afkican CiNcHONA.-This variety of bark wa 
represented at the auctions in considerable quantitiess 
•2M bales of it being shown, of which aiO sold wiih fair 
competition at 2| to 3d per lb. f.r fair medium-sized 
silvery qu.ll, ana Hid to 2|d per lb. for small an., b,.ld 
ships (and broken quiU mixed. Nearly the whole of the 
parcel which was recently imported via Lisbon) was in sound 
condition. pv""^ 
South American CLvcHONA.-The sa'es Included- 489 
packages cultivated BoUvian Calisaya bark, of which 4'i4 
(aU ballots of i cwt. weighc; sjid with good compotitioa 
