338 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. 1, 1889. 
in the sun. Polishers have been long in use on the 
coast, and are found to improve some coffees, but 
not others. The effect is said not to be very lasting. 
The fact is, the best method of curing coffee, 
both on the coast and on the estate, is well known 
in South India. This consists in picking only ripe 
coffee and pulping it the day it is picked ; carefully 
separating all inferior coiiee from the best parchment j 
fermenting the parchment only as long as is suffi- 
cient to remove the mucilage, and washing out in 
one day all that is pulped in one day ; spreading 
the cofiee thinly on the tables, and turning it con- 
stantly to ensure even drying ; putting it in store 
before the parchment cracks, and keeping it cool and 
dry in store by constant turning. The Wynaad Com- 
mittee lound coffee dried to 3.51b. a bushel in the 
sun gave the best results, but some planters prefer 
401b., and good results have been obtained from 
coffee dried much less than this. It should be re- 
membered that the great point to aim at is an even 
sample. For this purpose, perhaps, more care might 
be taken than is usually done to float off, not only 
"empty," but half-formed or imperfect beans. A 
Oeylon planter recommends that a piece of iron 
should be fixed in the spout of the pulper so as to 
separate, not only floaters, but all beans which are 
not of full weight ; and that the latter should be 
classed as No. II Parchment, and tails and floaters 
kept separate from that. It is also of importance 
to pulp as clean as possible, so as to have little tails, 
and to wash these out daily, and not leave them 
to be washed up once a week. All but the very 
best parchment should be kept back, and sold sepa- 
rately at the end of the season, and coffee from 
''white cherry" should never be mixed with any 
other. This last sold very badly this year, and 
would have spoilt any sample with which it was 
mixed. Lastly, the whole of one despatch should be 
dried to the same weight, to facilitate the completion 
of the work on the coast and ensure even drying. 
If parts of one lot are drier than others, the whole 
must be kept exposed in the sua till the wettest 
parts are dry, and the drier may suffer from too 
long exposure. 
A question has been raised as to whether it would 
not be wise to revert to the old method of packing 
in cases instead of double bags, as a means of pre- 
serving the appearance of the bean. This was also 
raised in 1885, and experts reported :— " As to pack- 
ing, we have not hitherto (i.e. after an experience 
of some eight years,) found any disadvantage in 
double bags as compared with cases, and both have 
been tried separately and together, while our buyers 
prefer bags to cases as the bulk of our coffee goes 
to the Continent. We have no reason to suppose 
that coffee suffers in bags as we had plenty of good 
colour in bags." All planters of experience will agree 
with the Wynaad Committee that no method of 
estate curing (or coast curing either 1) vpill put colour 
into coffee, but any groat carelessness in curing will 
rob coffee of such colour as it may possess. This 
leads to the conclusion that there are many other 
things necessary to produce a good bean than good 
curing. But a consideration of these methods must 
be left for a future occasion, — Madras Mail. 
• 
A SUBSTITUTE FOR INDIARUBBER. 
[to the editor op the "spectator." 
Sir, — In the Spectator of September 23rd yoit 
Write in reference to the sujirgestions of Mr. Thorny- 
croft that steam-roller traffic should be encour- 
aged by Mr. Chaplin to carry loads of twelve 
tons at four miles an honr, that "a substitute 
ou£iht to be found tor indiarubber" as it is so 
expensive. The late Alhed Nobel invented this 
substitute, and lie invited me to see specimens 
at his lioine at San Kenio shortly before his un- 
expected death. He showed nie samples of roof- 
ing for buildings, for tires of bicycles, for heavy 
carriages, tubes, rings, and tobacco-holders ex- 
fictly the same as those which are sold all over 
England, and which turn inside out. Mr. Nobel 
asked me to tear his imitation gutterpercha, and 
also the real articles, which were side by side. 
I tried and found it impossible to even damage 
most of the articles he had made, and that 
even the tobacco-pouches and elastic rings were 
tougher than the articles made of indiarubber. 
I was very much astonished. Mr. Nobel said : 
" Mind, there is no indiarubber in the.se things. 
I have flavoured them with it, so that it will 
be supposed to be real." As a fact, the real 
and false melt much the same. My late friend 
said : " There is a larger fortune to be made 
out of this invention then 1 and my friends have 
made out of dynamite. If you have any money 
invested in guttapercha forests or manufac- 
tories get out your money. More certainly 
than beetroot sugar destroys cane-sugar will 
my invention gradually kill the guttapercha 
trade." Mr. Nobel added that "next" year he 
intended to put up works in Italy and to em- 
ploy fifteen hundred men to make this substi- 
tute, which would be called " Nobel's gutta- 
jjercha." It would seem as if Mr. Nobel car- 
ried his secret to the grave. Because 1 know 
nothing whatever about these matters, and my late 
friend knew, this might have been the reason why 
he showed me his inventions. I can never forget a 
thing that Mr. Nobel did that afternoon. He said : 
" I will show you an invention which I will never 
reveal because it might do much injury, though 
sooner or later some one will find out the same 
secret." He then took some grey stuff out of a 
tin box, added a few drops out of a small bottle 
and said: "Now, in one hour's time this towel 
and this old coat I slightly touch with the mixture 
will take fire and burn violently. Happy that the 
petroleuses of the Paris Commune did not know 
my secret." My late friend put the towel and old 
coat on an old chair in the garden. I forgot the 
circumstances during his most interesting con- 
versation, but at the expiration of an hour Mr. 
Noble said: "It is time; come and look," and 
within five minutes the coat and the towel blazed 
up furiously. I am satisfied that Alfred Nobel 
invented a perfect substitute for indiarubber, which 
could be produced at half the cost of the real 
article, and unless his brother knows the secret, 
it is as unfortunate that the invention is lost 
for the present as it is fortunate that the Greek- 
fire mixture will remain unused. As regards Mr. 
Thornycroft's suggestions, he must remember that 
to carry, say, sixteen tons dead weight, most country- 
bridges and culverts would have to be inspected 
yearly, and very many rebuilt. And the number 
of carriage accidents would become too numerous 
for newspapers even to note them, in addition to 
the almost daily cyclists' mortuary list. — I am, 
Sir, &c., Gandolfi (Duke). 
Blachnore ParkfHanley Castle, Worcester, Sept. 26, 
Asbestos in Ceylon.— Some three niontlis 
ago we reported the local discovery of asbestos, and 
now we .see it mentioned that Messrs. S Peter 
Soysa and H Francis Fernando, two well- 
known merchants, have come across the mate- 
rial in one of their plumbago mines in the Galle 
District. Specimens have been submitted to an 
analyst who has given it as his opinion that 
this mineral exists in large quantities in the 
vicinity of Messrs, Soysa's and Fernanclo's mines, 
