884 
THE TROPfGAL AQRiCULtURtST. [June i, 1892. 
procees can be carried out on a large macufecturiDg 
Bcale, when further valuable eiperience will doabllesB 
be Kained, 
From Messrs. Dewar and Redwood's Keport, I take 
one paragraph ; — 
In respect to the commercial value of a succefsfal 
procefis for the tnanufaoture of a solid Petroleum fuel 
we may point out that in any localities where the 
cost of Petrolenm in relation to tbat, other fuel is 
sufficiently low, such s process should admit of being 
advantageously carried out on a scale of great magni- 
tude. The enormous extent to which in Russia, and 
in the United States, liquid feel is now employed, and 
the rapidly growing demand for this heating agent 
for use in metallurgical and other industrial <pen- 
tions as well as for s4 earn raising, concluRivt ly demon- 
strate that the we l-known theoretical superii rity of 
Petroleum over coal as a fuel has been c nfirraed in 
practice. L'quid fuel, however, requires for i's satis- 
factory combustion the adaption o .special appliances, 
and iu muny ca6e=, a soil Petroleum fuel which could 
he burut in an ordinary fireplace or furuece, wonid 
be preferable or even capable of being need where 
the other conld not. Moreover thi re are some des- 
criptions of Petroleum occurring in nature in great 
abundance which from their viscid character are not 
adapted for transport or use in a liquid state, f.nd if 
as we see no reason to doubt, th^ Ohenha-1 process 
can be applied to such Petroleum it would Ije postible 
to utilise the raw material which is at present prac- 
tically unmarketable. If theretore, by the adoption 
of the procei=8 in question a fuel capable or tieing 
transported in the solid form and f etisfacforily burnt d 
in furnances and fireplaces of the UHial construction 
cm be economically manufactured from Petroleum 
the results should of great uidustrial importance. 
Having regard to the presumably enormous un- 
developed resources of petroleum in various countries, 
there dees not appear at present to be any reasouable 
ground for apprehension in respect to futnre supplies. 
But, as the matter is one of such special interest 
to Ceylon Tea Factory owners, I quote the last 
report in full; — 
London, 18lh Nov. 1891. 
To the Directors of the Solidified Petrolouui (PioLeer) 
Corporation, Ltd. 
Gentlemen, — I have had the pleasure of examini;,g 
at Hackney Wick the Ohenhall process of converting 
crude Petroleum into a solid mass for the purpose 
of burning it in lieu of coal, and must say that the 
experiments I witnessed were of a mott satisfactory 
character, more especially in cases where fuel is 
used to generate steam. It has long been known that 
by burning Petroleum a greater amount of beat and 
steam producing power can be obtained thin by burn- 
ing coal, and up to the present lime srumbers of triBls 
and experiments have been made with a view to introdu- 
cing this description of fuel, but it has been found that 
by using Petroleum in a liquid state a certain amount 
of oxygen has to be combined with it, and in order 
to do this the Petroleum hai to be sprayed iu the 
furnace by means of either a steam or compressed 
air jet, such process meaning a loss of coal, besides 
the necessity of having to alter the furnaces into 
which this Petroleum is sprayed to effect perfect 
combustion. 
In the consolidated system referred to, the crude 
Petroleum is mixed with a chemical comprund equal 
to about 15 percent, of its bulk. This ia subjected 
to a moist heat equal to about 210 degrees Fahren- 
heit, which canees the solid matter to dissolve and 
amalgamate with the oil. In this state it is subjected 
to a dry heat of from 400 to 500 degrees Fahren- 
heit, and commencPB to solidify ; when cooled it ia 
In a pafity state. When iu this condition it is placed 
in a press, presned into the form of bricks, perfectly 
Bolid, and can be transported and used as desired, 
The fuel in this form when burned on »n ordinary 
fire grate without any application for spraying presents 
a bright flame of intenn; hi at without giving off any 
liquid or mull, and after it has burut until all the 
carbon contained ban beou couBumed, it leaves little 
91 aeh. 
As a steam generator it is, in my opinion, far «npe- 
nor to the best Welsh coal or patent fuel made from 
co'A and pitch combiaed, for tbe following reatons — 
First.— The beat obtained from it is nudoubted'v 
greater (as all who have burnt Petroleum will admit) 
than that cf coal. ' 
Second — It requires little or no stoking, as its heat 
cones tr, m the surface and not from the m>.es 
Third.— There is no refuse left- (it burns iieelf out) 
— anu coisi quently there is no clinker or aeh to remove 
from the furnace bars. 
Fourth.— It baa little deteriorating (ffect on the fire 
bare, and can boused in any ordinsrv furnace. 
I have not gone into Bi y detailed calculation as to 
the compare tive cost of ibis material and coal but I 
am sure that at the present price of ciu ie Petroleum 
and the >-mall cost ol solidifying it for^ steam-genera- 
tmg purpose , it w. uld be much ohesper than ccal, and 
1 am ot opinion that this method or solidifying Petro- 
leum for iLe purpose of using it as fuel completely 
overcomes the difficulties th»t have hitherto bren ex- 
perienced in buri.ing Petroleum in a fluid state. 
Under these circumstances there must h<i a great 
futnre for the fuel in genoratmg steam, both for 
maiine and land purposes, and from the experiments 
I have witnessed and the obfervations, I have made, 
I can confidently say tfiat a pound of water can be 
evaporated by it'* u-e more cheaply ttan the use 
of coal.— I tm, Gentlemen, Yours faithfully. 
Alfeed Bltth. 
(Late J. & A. Blyth, Engineers, Limehouse. 
THE AMSTEEDAM CINCHONA AUCTIONS 
Amsterdam, March 31. 
At today's auctions 2,648 pacbegeB of Java bark 
fold at en average unit of 6| cents, or equal to about 
l^a per lb., thus showing no alteration in value upon 
the last London sales. The following prices were 
paid ;— Manufsctnring barks in whole and broken quill 
and chips 9 to 63 cents (equal to l|d to lUd per 
0.); ditto root 16 fo 43 cents (equal to 3d to 7|d per 
lb ) ; drnggiets' barks, in quill, broken quill, and chips 
10 to 133 cents (equal to l|d to Is lljd per lb ) ■ 
ditto toot 11 to 27 centt^ (equal to 2d to 4|d per lb )' 
The principal buyers in the order of their purchases 
were the Anerbach Quinine-works, the Brunswick 
works, and the Amsterdam factory.— aemisi and 
Druggist. 
Japanese Persimmons.— The Japanese persimmon, 
when unripe and not properly cured, is astringent 
and unpalatable; but when fully ripe, is highly 
nutritious, luscious, and of delicate flavour Mr 
Ellwood Cooper, of Santa Barbara, Cal., gives the 
following direction for use: "Place on shelf or side- 
board or table for ornamentation until it becomes soft. 
It will shrink somewhat and turn a darker color • if 
It ripens properly will be uniformly soft in every 
part— must not be eaten until it is— then peel from 
the top. The skin is very thin and will leave the 
pulp readily." — American Groter. 
" Canella " ^0T Cinnamon. — It may be worth 
while pointing out that the canda spoken of in 
Mesers. Ross and Sinclair's report on Peru is not 
cinnamon, though in most of the European 
Ianguai;es the name for Ceylon's epioy bsrk is 
some form of the diminutive of the Latin canna, 
a oane. What the tree referred to in the Peru 
esport is. is shown in the following extract from 
the Treasury of Botany — 
CANELLA.-The tree yielding Cauella bark has been 
pla,ced in various natural groups by different 
writers. The characters of the genus, in brief, are the 
presence of three bracts, and five sepals ; no petals : 
twenty stamens united below, and having narrow 
anthers ; a one-celled ovary, with two or three pendu- 
lous ovules. The tree is a native of the West Indies 
and fmtnishes a pale-orange-coloured bark, with an 
aroma«c odour, which is used as a tonic. The negroes 
of the West Indies use it as a spice. The plant ik 
fre(iuejitly grown iu botanic gardens.' 
