April r, 1895.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
667 
house ? Destroy such a tree ! Go to some needy 
wretch who has pledged his last jewel, and who is 
anxious to eat his last meal." 
But alas ! in the present money-making age, 
even Orientals are tempted if not to cut down, 
at least otherwise just as surely to kill, the 
palm which, if left alone, would supply sustenance 
to themselves and their children. Even at the 
risk of closing the trade in Palmyra bristle fibre, 
we trust the practice of injuring young palms 
will be firmly prohibited. 
IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
Mr. Alex. Ross of Venture, Dikoya, lias just re- 
turned by the ss. "Valetta" from a prolonged 
visit to Western Australia, its grazing, farming and 
gold fields, as well as the principal towns. We, 
ourselves, traversed a considerable portion of 
the settled divisions of this Colony in 1875, 
oefore it had any railway, and during Sir Win, 
Robinson's first term of Government. The coach 
journey from Albany to Perth then occupied a 
week against the 24 hours now taken, we suppose 
by rail; but Mr. Ross, travelling by the latter, got 
the same impression as to the wide area of light 
sandy soil covered with light jungle, chena or 
scrub. The forest of Jarrah growing among iron- 
stone not far from Pertli presents the greatest pos- 
sible contrast to the 1 est of the country. Around 
York and Northain, there are limited expanses 
of fine farming country — -all taken up. Mr. Ross 
shares our admiration of Perth, the beautifully- 
situated little Capital on the Swan River ; but 
he does not think much of the harbour opera- 
tions begun at the port, Freemantle, on a plan 
different from Sir John Coode's. But the great 
interest is in the goldfields, and Mr. Ross 
has strong faith in their continuing prosperous for 
a long lime. He visited Coolgardie and went 
down one of the most famous mines, some 280 ft. 
At the mouth he encountered an old Ceylon planter 
Mr. de Coney Hamilton who planted for five 
years under Mr. Downall. Later, he encoun- 
tered Mr. Wi A. Robertson, Mining Engineer, 
who had been engaged in putting in machinery 
to some of the mines. The scarcity of water is 
a great drawback at some of the mines and to 
the country generally. Meantime, typhoid fever 
plays havoc among the rough and ready set of 
miners who are careless of precautions about 
filtering, much less boiling their water and of 
sanitary regulations, Mr. Ross has, on the whole, 
enjoyed his trip and learned a great deal about 
the country. He was detained longer in Wes- 
tern Australia than he had intended) through 
meeting with an accident on board a vessel in 
Freemantle roadstead. From this, however, he 
has quite recovered and we welcome him back 
to Ceylon. 
4 
A PEEP INTO THE BATCODDE TEA 
FACTORY. 
It was only about a week ago that the machinery of 
the Batgoddo Tea Factory was set in motion for the 
first time, and through tho courtesy of the proprie- 
tor and manager, Mr. J. H. W. Mayow. I was shown 
over the different machines, Ac, that were at work. 
The factory has only recently been built and eom- 
plotedundor the personal supervision of Mr. Mayow, 
who designed the building. It stands overlooking tho 
cartroad and is a three-storied edifice. The moving 
power of tho machinery is a " Pelton" wheel. A 
column of water through heavy iron piping about 
half a foot in diameter, with a perpendicular fall of 
about 300 feet, forces itself through a uozzlo about 
auiuch iu diameter attached to the cud of the piping 
and plays on a miniature waterwheel about feet 
in circumference, and sends it spinning round with 
great velocity, and by means of thick leather belting 
all the other machinery is set in motion. There 
are two Economic rollers for rolling the tea, and a 
roll-breaker and sifter of Messrs. Walker and Greig. 
There is a large Brown's dessicator and a 
Davidson's tea-cutter, and a tea-sifter im- 
proved by Mr. Mayow. All these machines are 
fixed in the first floor of the building, while on the 
second floor rolls of jute hessian fixed on poles 
arranged in layers about a foot apart from each 
other over which the tea leaves are spread for 
withering, almost covering the entire space. On the 
third floor, which is also intended to be used for 
withering, the ceiling and walls are beautifully covered 
over with white talipot leaves, which tempers 
the heat of the zinc roofing of the factory and 
adds light to the whole room. This factory is one 
of the largest in the district and reflects much credit 
on the manager who with his own knowledge and 
engineering skill has so economically and yet sub- 
stantially constructed and piloted the work to a 
successful termination. This is the first tea factory 
in the district that has a " Pelton " wheel in use 
and when fuel is scarce and water not abundant on 
most estates, the use of this Pelton wheel with a 
little flow of water and a fall seems the best and 
most profitable under the circumstances.— Cor. 
THE BARK OF THE MANGROVE: 
A New Industry foe Cfaxon. 
It may be remembered that in December 
last Government gave notice in the Gazette : — ■ 
That an application has been received from Mr. G. 
R. Murray, of 8, Central Chambers, II, Bothwell 
street, Glasgow, Scotland, on behalf of Crawford's 
Cutch Company, Limited, for the exclusive right of 
collecting, for the purposes of manufacture by the 
Company, the bark of the Mangrove (Kadol) grow- 
ing on Crown land in a district of the Island to be 
hereafter determined, and is under the considera- 
tion of Government ; and that it is proposed to 
grant this concession on the following terms: — (1.) 
The concession to be for fifteen years ; (2.) In con- 
sideration thereof, the Government to receive a 
royalty of ten shillings per ton of manufactured 
cutch exported from the Island : Provided that after 
twelve months from the date of the concession, the 
manufacturers must have begun work, and that a 
minimum of one hundred tons per annum be ex- 
ported by the Company thereafter (i.e., in the second 
year of the concession), otherwiso the concession 
to cease; (3.) No similar concession on more 
favourable terms to be granted in any other districts 
during the stipulated fifteen years, and no similar 
concession at all for a period of two years. 
Opposition was raised by seine of the native 
tanners, but it was unavailing, and yesterday 
we were able to announce that the conces- 
sion had been granted. As we stated in 
our last issue live acres have been purchased at Trin- 
eoinaloe, for the premises necessary for the purposes 
of manufacture, the concession so far as regards 
the collection of the bark embracing a very 
large part of that district. For the factory a 16-ton 
boiler has just been imported, and the machines 
to be sent out shortly will consist of two for breaking 
the bark, a sawmill, ami a vacuum pan capable 
of containing 3(M gallons of the tannic acid 
which will be expressed from the bark by a 
secret process, this acid being very largely used 
for tanning rones, nets, sails &(•. Hitherto the 
cutch trade has been almost entirely in the 
hands of the Burmese, and, as can be ima- 
gined, the methods which they employ in ob- 
taining the extract from the bark arc not 
based on the best scientific principles. The 
process which the Crawford Cutch Company 
are to employ i-- entirely new, hut a.-- it is. 
absolutely private property no description 1} 
