July  r,  t395.J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
43 
MIL  CHKLSTV  OF  J.ONDON  OX  TEA 
t>WEEl’IX(;S  AND  TEA  SALES 
GREAT  DEMAND  FOR  CAFFEINE  :-400  TONS 
OF  TEA  ALLEGED  TO  RE  WASTED  ! 
Mr.  T,  Clivlsty’s  eflbrts  to  jiut  a stop  to  the 
ini([uities  of  some  of  the  Loiidoa  wiirehouseioea  and 
wliarf  owners  are  widely  known  and  liii.;'hly  ajipie- 
ciated,  both  in  India  ami  Ceylon.  To  his  e.xertioas 
tliere  can  lie  no  donht  that  we  are  iiriniarily 
indebted  for  tlie  i.ssue  of  the  late  Customs  Order 
and  for  the  beneficial  result.s  that  have  already 
followed  it.  It  appears  certain  that  the  Customs 
at  home  are  now  fully  alive  to  the  importance 
of  this  matter,  and  that  they  are  not  likely  to 
allow  it  to  drift  back  ayain  into  the  former  bad 
practice.  Rut  when  discussing  this  subject  with 
our  London  correspondent,  Mr.  Christy  took  tlie 
occa.sion  to  review  the  whole  .sy.stem  umler  which 
at  present  our  teas  are  placed  upon  the  Ijontloii 
market.  This  .system  he  believes  to  involve  much 
injustice  to  the  growers  of  tea,  and  we  strongly 
recommend  what  he  has  said  to  the  consideration 
of  our  own  iilanters  and  of  their  representative 
body,  the  Planters’  Association.  We  think  it  pro* 
liable  that  Mr.  Christy  could  h.ardly  liave  in- 
sisted so  forcilily  as  he  now  does  upon 
certain  remedial  measures  open  for  their  ad- 
option, liad  the  state  of  the  tea  market  re- 
mained as  it  has  hitliorto  been  for  years  past. 
Rut  if  our  London  correspondent  has  rightly 
understood  Mr.  Christy’s  view,  a great  (diange 
has  now  come  over  the  late  situation.  The  de- 
mand for  Call'eiue  is  enormously  increasing,  so 
much  so,  indeed,  that  tea  sweepings  can  no 
longer  sumily  the  raw  material  for  its  manu- 
facture. The  con.se([uence  has  been  that  the 
commoner  teas  are  being  largely  bought  to  su)i- 
plant  tliat  source  of  su[iply.  So  large  are  now' 
these  liuyings,  that  late'  sales  in  Mincing 
Lane  have  been  the  scene  of  mo.st  unusual  e.\- 
citement,  and  the  lower  grades  of  tea  have  been 
cleared  off  as  fast  as  they  could  be  put  on  the 
market.  This  fact,  Mr.  Christy  observes, 
puts  the  tea  planters  in  a position  to  dictate 
their  own  terms  as  to  jirocedure  at  home  be- 
tween the  landing  and  disposal  of  their  teas. 
It  is  well-known  that  for  years  past  the  com- 
plaints as  to  home  charges  on  tea  have  been 
constant  and  strong.  Rut  power  to  remove  tlie 
causes  for  the.se  complaints  has  hitherto  not  been 
po.ssessed,  and  jilanters  have  had  to  submit 
almost  without  remonstrance  to  whatever  course 
the  home  agencies  chose  to  follow  and  to  pay 
the  charges  consequent  upon  that  submissioii. 
Rut  if  we  may  accept  Mr.  Christy’s  opinion, 
the  position  has  been  reversed  by  the  new  de- 
mand above  referred  to.  It  is  now  the  iilanter’s 
turn  to  dictate  how  his  tea  shall  be  ilcalt 
with  after  its  arrival  in  England.  Any  opposi 
tion  that  may  be  offered  to  his  dictation,  we 
are  told  should  be  nief  by  a threat  to  sell  all 
teas  locally.  That  it  would  be  fea.sible  to 
carry  this  threat  into  effect  is  very  iloubt- 
ful,  although  something  might  be  done 
in  that  direction.  Rut  Mr.  Christy  thinks  that 
the  threat  alone  would  suffice  'to  extort  compli- 
ance. It  has  always  seemed  to  us  that  there 
was  much  in  the  proceilure  .as  to  reweighing 
and  rebulking  that  should  be  suscejitible  of  im- 
provement. \Te  are  quite  content  to  accept  Mr. 
('hristy’s  insistence  tb.at  lioth  are  entirely  un- 
necc.ssary.  If  our  planters  .are  also  of  that 
opinion,  the  sooner  they  tnke  step.s  to  act  with 
reference  to  this  matter  the  hetter.  It  cm-tainly 
does  .seem  monstrous,  as  Mr.  Christy  h.as  ex- 
pressed it,  that  the  value  of  jm  less  than  4U0 
tons  of  tea  is  annually  lost  tb  our  own  and 
Indian  planters  by  persistence  in  a system  that 
is  believed  to  be  wholly  unncce.ss.ary. 
.Since  the  above  was  written,  later  news  has 
come  to  hand  rather  weakening  Mr.  ('hristy’s 
view  of  what  the  planters  can  do  by  way  of 
reform  ; but  cert.ainly,  it  is  undoubteil  tiiat  there  is 
ample  I'ooni  for  amemlment  in  the  present  .system. 

STEAM  ROILERS  IN  TEA  FACTORIES. 
( Cojiuniniicatcd. ) 
The  le.ading  article  in  the  Obucrcvr  of  May  1st 
suggests  a few  notes  which  m.ay  iiossibly  be  of 
novelty  and  interest  to  steam  users  in  tea 
factories.  The  Perkins’  lioiler  is  an  invention 
several  ye.ars  old,  but  which  luis  I believe  not 
been  adojited  to  any  grc.at  extent.  The  writer 
remembers  some  years  back  seeing  a boiler  and 
engine  by  this  inventor  which  had  been  origin- 
ally in  a paddle  steamer  on  the  river  Tyne,  and 
were  afterw.ards  in  ojieration  in  the  works  of  a 
large  engineering  firm.  It  may  be  briefly  des-- 
cribed  as  a boiler  consisting  entirely  of  small 
tubes  screwed  together,  supidying  a triple  ex- 
ji.ansion  engine,  and  working  as  would  be  exjiectetl 
with  .a  very  high  economy  of  fuel.  The  gauge 
glass  (if  the  expression  be  allowed)  was  con- 
stnicted  of  ndca,  as  gl.a.ss  would  not  be  able 
to  resist  tlie  decomposing  action  of  water  at  so 
high  a temperature. 
It  may  be  worth  pointing  out  that  roughly 
speaking  the  clliciency  of  a .Steam  Engine  dc 
pends  on  the  difference  of  temjieratute  obt.ainable  in 
the  steam  before  and  after  doing  its  work  in  , 
the  engine,  and  Engineers  have  been  led  in 
pursuit  of  this  jiriuciple  into  the  construction  of 
iiigh  pi’essure  boilers  and  tri[ile  exp.an.sion 
engines.  Perkins’  400  lb.  jiressure  combination 
was  a very  bokl  attempt  to  carry  this  out) 
and  was  po.ssibly  rather  in  advance  of  its  age. 
There  are  however  sever.al  water  tube  boilers  in 
general  use  working  very  successfully  at  less 
ambitious  pres.sures.  The  rationale  of  putting 
tubes  in  boilers  is  of  course  tbe  increa.se  of 
heating  surface.  In  the  tnhtllar  boiler  the  flame 
p.asses  through  the  tubes,  the  water  being  out= 
.side;  in  w.ater  tube  or  ti(bu/o>'H  boilers  the  re- 
verse ]irinciple  obtains,  and  it  becomes  .a  m.atter 
for  careful  consideration,  how  far  the  difficulties 
of  incrust.ation  may  be  met  in  a boiler  of  the  lattel' 
type.  Regarding  the  comp.ai'ative  cost  of  transport 
of  different  tyjics,  unless  the  expense  of  trans* 
port  lie  very  high  indeed  it  is  not  easy  to 
see  where  the  iirobable  economy  will  come  in  in 
using  a boiler  of  a higher  lirst  cost  than  those 
of  cheaper  design.  'I’hc  greater  dilbculties  of 
joints  and  coiinectioos  with  high  pressure 
boilers  and  engines,  and  the  higher  training 
neces.sary  for  their  management,  [though  boilers 
of  this  type  arc  of  cour.se  less  liable  to  dis- 
astrous exiilosions,]  will  probably  outweigh  the 
prospective  ailvantages  of  high  jiressure  .steam  in 
the  eyes  of  a careful  )ilanter.  Simplicity  of 
i'e[iair  is  of  course  a factor  of  considerable  im- 
portance in  place.s  remote  from  the  relinements 
of  mech.anical  civilis.ation. 
The  questi<in  of  boiler  cleaning  h.as  been  cro]i- 
]iing  up  lately  in  the  Ceylon  Press,  .and  the  article 
already  quoted  emls  witK  a timely  warning  aliout 
the  lively  time  coming  for  ste.am  users  here, 
when  their  boilers  have  come  to  years  of  decrepi- 
tude ami  decay.  I believe  1 am  correct  in  say- 
ing tlmt  organised  boiler  inspection  is  little  known 
here.  The  simplest  way  to  insure  this  being  pro- 
perly done  is  to  have  boilers  insure<l.  The  in- 
surance company,  in  their  own  interest,  have 
