124 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Auc. i, 1894. 
could not give ua the requisite prepare and for 
some time we were afraid t> e seme would be the 
ease with Qm. Oar pbjic'ion to steam was 
owing to the constant supervision neces- 
sary for efficient working, as well as 
the risk of fire, the dust, smoke, &o., as referred 
in the advertisement, Mr. Ingrams, Manager 
of the local Gas Company, on our application, supplf d 
us with necessary data to asoertain the probable cost 
of a gag engine, gas and water pipe conn<ctione, &o., 
and with these partioulsrs we found that there 
would be a saving of money on labour with much 
Superior efficiency, on the average of working 50 
hours per week. Where we paid from R90 to B100 
for hand labour per month the gas sngine uxiug per 
week 2,500 feet of gas even at R7 p:r 1,000 feet 
would cost just about R70, giving tbe engine the full 
working time. This shows a most remarkable saving, 
but the actual saving has been more remarkable 
still. Our gas consumption for June, with quite 
our usu»l amount of work, amounted to only R39 - 90; 
add rent of gas and water meters and cost of supply 
of water, say R8 ; total 47'90, or a saving of between 
40 and 50 per cent. And this is in addition to — a» 
tlie advertisement puts it regarding the engine : — 
"No tedious preparation before starting; cleaning 
required, almost r>otbing]whon oompare'l with scaling 
a boiler and cleaning flues ; no chimney to build — no 
smoke nuisance; no coal to get in, or ashes to cart 
away ; no dust — no boiler, with risk of explosion ; no 
waW gauges or sa r ety valves to watch ; no fires to 
slack down or draw at stopping time — only gas to turn 
off and no regular attendance required beyond oiling, 
cleaning, and starting." All this is worth record- 
ing, but we must state that the pay of one or 
two coolies has meantime to be deducted from 
the above total, which we expeot will not be 
chargeable later on. Yet when it is under- 
stood that the engine has only to have a match 
applied to light a Bunsen burner, to sttrt it in about 
three minutes, to stop it by turning off the supply of gas, 
it may be credited that the engine is equal to the most 
exaotiog economical requirements and is cf extreme 
advantage in the case of work which may require 
short stoppages. But even in continuous running it 
is quite equal if not superior to the o'der motive 
power. One of the old pattern gas engines, with the 
troublesome slides, — which are not in the latest 
designs— have been known to run continuously night 
and day for ten years, with short stoppages for clean, 
ing and repairs and is still working. The total cost 
of repairs and renewals for this period was only £25 
of £2, iQs per year. Ordinarily the life of a gas 
engine based on this experience would be twice or 
three times ten yews as few have to run so continu- 
ously—even for a third of the time per day. Other 
instances of coat have shown that engines in every- 
day use for 10 years have only cost for repairs, "a few 
shillings per annum " ! 
One of the great advantages of tbe gas engine is 
its cleanliness. It might, it has been remarked, almost 
be run in a drawing room and with lef s dost than cornea 
from an ordinary grate or stove 1 This saves having 
a separate compartment for it. The compa-ison is 
between the cleanliness of the gas engine and the con- 
dition of a place with a steam ei gine. The result is 
eutirely in favour of the gas engine ; and this advan- 
tage itself has commended it apart from its economy 
otherwise. There are n^ne Of the usual risks atten- 
dant on steam power, and, as to cleauing, five 
minutes ev> ry evening to wipe it down and about 
10 minutes or so every week to clean out the valves 
is almost all that is required. During the time we 
have been running our gas engine, it has worked with 
the greatest smoothness and efficiency. It is placed 
in the centre of our machine-room, having machinery 
on both sides. This is for handiness in smarting a-irt 
stopping, but which also relieves to a slight extent 
the torsion strain on the shafting. It is of the vertical 
type, occupies a floor spaoe of about 4 feet square, 
with around wat^r tank behind occupying eny 30 sq. 
inches, Both are rained on concrete art ■ brkk founda- 
tions, the former about a foot, the latter about 18 inches. 
The top of this brick and oonoreta work is neatly 
finished off with beaded polished teak boarding, and 
ou tin m- the engine and tank r< st The tank tf vat< r 
is simply used for the purpose of keepii g ibe cylinder 
of tl e i nginD cool, by tbe well-known law that 
heated water, being lighter than col- 1 , rises to the 
surface, which is then carried away to give place to 
cooler, and thus a cons' aut circulation ia kept up 
between the tank and the engine cylinder. X' e 
beat of tbe burnt gas in the evlinder is nboat J,<»UO 
deg- 1 . Fah. and it has therefore been found m c s-ary 
to keep the cylinder jacket cool by this mi are. The 
engine is praotically silent in its working when c<m- 
pared with a steam engine. All the waste products of 
the burnt gas go into an exhaust box and are then 
conveyed by ordinary xino piping above the eaves of 
the building. As already stated all the fire burning in 
connection with the engine !b a nmple BanaM flame, 
which plays on a hermetically sealed tube that opens 
by a valve into tbe cylinder. Tbe gat* ia auppli d to 
the cylinder by another valve, and on the gas being 
compressed by the return stroke of the piston, the 
heated tube valve opeos, the gas in ignited, and the 
expansion drives the engine. Other valves are u»td for 
the exhaust and for drawing air into tbe cylinder to 
mix with the gas in proper explosive proportions 
AH these valves with governor attached are wjrked 
on oams within a space of six square inches, and 
are practically all the working parts of the engine. 
The extreme simplioity and effectiveness of I he engine 
have be n oonstantly remarked, and well shows the 
advance made in this type of engine. 
Tbe handiness and adaptability of the gas 
engine have made it to be extensively used in 
electrio lighting, and in thia connection it baa held 
more than its own with steam. Th>« baa been, of 
course, where gaa is cheaper than in Colombo, but we 
are • ure, from calculations made, that the expense, 
even looking at the fuel side alone, will still be in 
favour of the gas engine. This baa been recognised by 
Mr. Torr Todman who has been r« quested to instal tbe 
electrio light in tbe Bristol Hotel. For this purpose 
be has indented for a 12 horse-power horizontal gae 
engine, through Mr. Ingrams, manager of the Gas 
Company, and we believe it is only one of maiiy 
others which it ia expected will be indented for soon. 
We are pleased to bear testimony to the mrst 
efficient way in which Mr. Ingraoos baa supi rvised 
an! carried out tbe arrangements in connection with 
the installation of our own gas engine end connections, 
and we bave no doubt bat that others adopting gas 
as a motive power will rective the same attention 
and the same most satisfactory results as we have 
arrived at with respect to our gas engine — the first 
introduced to Ceylon. 
COFFEE MACHINERY: 
CEYLON PULPERS FOR L IBERIAN COFFEE. 
On enquiry we learn from Messrs. Walker Sons 
& Co., Limited, with regard to their export of 
coffee machinery, that whilu as yet no orders 
have been received from Central Africa, fairly 
go:d business is being done with the Straits and 
Java in coffee pulpers for Arabian and Literian 
varieties, chiefly in double-disc pnlpers, but they 
have also sent a number of large machines with 
five discs working with sieves and buckets for 
Liberian coffee. They are now sending otf one 
to a planter in Java who has already two of 
the same class at work. The cherry for these machines 
is sieved before it enters the pulper so as to separate 
the small from the large, and the two sorts are 
pulped by separate discs which have the chops 
adjusted to suit each sort. 
This is the only way to get over the diffi- 
culty in pulping Liberian coffee, owing to the 
great difference in size of tr e cherry. A sam- 
ple was lately got from the Coast and it was 
found that 50 per cent passed through a sieve 
with holes 15-l6th inch diameter and the beans 
that passed through were about half the size of 
what remained. These two sorts when separated 
left two very even samples which are thus easily 
