Jan.  I,  1897.] 
T^ME  TROPIC  \L 
AGRICaLTQPiSr. 
do  not,  the  only  alternative  for  the  one  which 
fails  to  keep  pace  with  the  times,  is  to  go  to 
the  wall.  It  is  a death  struggle,  and  one 
which  of  sheer  necessity  must  be  maintained. 
The  question  is  what  is  it  leading  to  ? Have 
their  machines  by  any  means  reached  the  point  of 
perfection,  or  will  they  yet  produce  machinery,  which 
it  has  not  yet  eve  i entered  into  our  minds  to  con- 
ceive of  in  our  flights  of  fancy  ? Is  tea  machinery 
yet  in  its  infancy  ? We  are  inclined  to  think,  judg- 
ing from  the  past,  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant, 
when  we  shall  look  upon  our  present  machines  as 
antidiluvian — so  many  more  milestones  marking  the 
march  of  progress.  It  is  impossible  to  forecast  what 
evolutions  will  take  place,  but  the  finger  of  history 
points  very  clearly  to  vast  improvements,  even  on 
our  present  machines.  We  consider  them  well  nigh 
perfection,  and  can  scarcely  conceive  of  more  per- 
fect machines,  but  time  alone  can  show  us  what  the 
ingenuity  of  engineers  and  machinists  can  devise. 
When  we  come  to  think  of  it,  even  the  bast  of  our 
tea  factories  are  far  from  what  they  shjuld  be.  This, 
of  course,  is  owing  more  to  economical  reasons,  than 
aught  else.  Estates  cannot  afford  to  cast  aside  their 
old  machines  and  be  constantly  investing  in  new  ones. 
But,  little  by  little,  the  old  and  antiquated  machines 
will  have  to  be  discarded,  and  replaced  by  those  of  the 
latest  type.  The  change  will  be  gradual,  but  certain. 
And  so  with  our  present  tea-house,  they  will  also  give 
place  to  vastly  improved  factories.  As  new  and  im- 
proved machinery  is  evolved,  so  the  edifices  to 
contain  them  will  likewise  have  to  be  built  to  new 
patterns.  In  another  ten  or  fifteen  years’  time,  we 
shall  look  upon  our  present  buildings  as  so  many 
veritable  Noah’s  Arks.  These  remarks  have  been 
called  forth  by  our  attention  having  been  drawn 
to  soma  new  automatic  machinery  advertised  (in  our 
advertisement  pages)  by  Messr.s.  Davidson  & Co., — 
Mr.  Davidson’s  patent  new  Automatic  Sirocco 
Tea  Drier,  and  the  DavkDon-Maguire  Patent 
Tea  Packer.  It  is  necessary  for  us  to  introduce 
“ Sirocco  ” machinery  to  our  readers,  as  its 
merits  are  so  widely  known  among  d all  planters, 
but  ns  Messrs.  Davidson  & Co.  have  recently 
Introduced  so  many  improvements  in  their  old 
machinery,  and  have  also  put  on  the  market  some 
entirely  novel  machines,  we  feel  justified  in  giving 
a few  particulars.  With  reference  to  the ‘‘ Automatic 
Continuous  Web  Sirocco  Tea  Drier,”  the  machine 
has  worked  the  whole  of  this  season,  and  yielded 
results  beyond  expectation.  It  has  turned  out  an 
average  four  maunds  an  hour  of  pucca  dried  tea, 
which  shows  what  an  advance  it  is  on  other  similar 
machines.  The  chief  feature  about  it  is  that  the 
damp  leaf  is  introduced  into  the  hottest  blast  of 
air,  which  effiectually  and  instantaneously  checks  the 
fermentation.  The  tea  is  then  finished  off  at  a lower 
temperature,  as  it  automatically  traverses  through 
the  machine,  finally  coming  out  cool  to  the  hand, 
with  a delicious  aroma.  'This  method  of  drying 
allows  for  the  extraordinarily  high  tempera- 
ture of  300°  to  be  used  without  risk  of 
overfiring,  as,  for  as  long  as)  the  tea  contains  any 
moisture,  its  temperature  cannot  be  raised  above 
about  200°.  It  may  apnear  strange  to  our  readers 
such  a high  temperature  being  permitted,  but  when 
we  can  state  as  a fact,  that  the  teas  dried  in  this 
machine  this  season,  have  fetched  Jd.  a pound 
more  than  last  season’s  teas,  they  will  see  for 
themselves  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  this 
method  of  drying  ; one  which  is  sure  to  be  followed 
in  future  machines.  The  stove  is  of  the  multitubular 
pattern,  the  smoke  and  flame  passing  tJn-ouph  the 
tubes,  enabling  any  accumulation  of  sort  to  be 
removed  by  means  of  a wire  brush,  a very  much 
simpler  operation  than  cleaning  the  outside  of  a 
nest  of  tubes.  The  whole  of  the  furnace  is  of  iron, 
no  brick  entering  into  the  arrangement. 
All  types  of  Updraft  Siroccos  are  built  with  com- 
bined air  and  smoke  chimneys,  on  the  principle  of 
the  original  No.  1 Sirocco,  which  has  ahvays  been 
considered  by  planters  as  the  best  machine  for  dry- 
ing tea.  These  machines  have  been  giving  very 
good  results  as  regards  the  cmality  of  tea  made, 
and  Managers  report  increased  outturn, 
465 
The  tea  Packer  has  bseu  affording  satisfaction, 
and  its  advantages  duly  appreciated,  especially  by 
the  brokers  in  London,  who  have  been  issuing  very 
valuable  reports  on  the  condition  of  the  teas  packed 
by  this  machine.  The  latest  improvement  to  it  is  a 
self-feeding  hopper,  which  considerably  facilitates  the 
working  of  the  machine. 
In  addition  to  those  machines  Messrs.  Davidson 
& Co.  have  also  Sorters ; but  their  latest  marvel  is 
a new  patent  Tea  Roller,  which,  if  it  fulfils  all 
expectations,  and  accomplishes  all  that  is  claimed, 
for  it,  will  indeed  take  the  cake,  and  put  the  other 
makers  on  their  mettle.  This  Roller  has  a capacity 
for  holding  300  to  400  pounds  of  withered  leaf,  and 
is  said  to  require  the  very  small  driving  power  (in- 
dicated by  dynamometer  test)  of  1-20  H.P.  only 
when  empty  and  5 H P.  when  working  at  its  maxi- 
mum load.  The  leaf  is  kept  absolutely  cold  during 
the  rolling  process  ; lumps,  etc.,  are  automatically 
broken,  and  any  tea  that  escapes  from  between  the 
upper  and  lower  rolling  surfaces,  is  automatically 
swept  round  to  a delivery  spout  on  the  table,  where 
it  can  be  collected  in  a basket  or  box.  The  machine 
is  strongly  and  wall  made  ; all  parts  in  contact 
with  the  leaf  are  made  of  brass,  and  the  price  f.o.b. 
steamer,  Birkenhead,  is  £115  only. 
No  spec  al  machine,  or  apparatus,  for  fermenting 
has  as  yet  been  devised,  but  doubtless  this  process 
will  also  in  time  occupy  the  attention  of  some 
scientific  mechanician,  and  so  ne  patent  be  produced, 
which  will  enable  us  to  catch  on  to,  and  permanently 
hold,  th«  exact  colour  required  by  the  market.  It 
is  not  by  any  means  an  impossibility;  a man  with 
his  wits  about  him,  and  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
thoroughly  study  the  subject  practicalhj , will,  we  feel 
sure,  eventually  succeed  iu  inventing  an  apparatus, 
which  will  automatically  ferment  leaf  to  any  colour 
required.  Suph  a machine  is  certainly  not  out  of  the 
realm  of  practical  possibility,  and  it  is  more  than 
probable,  that  ere  long,  a fermenting  apparatus  will 
be  found  in  every  tea  factory  throughout  India. — ■ 
Indian  Planting  Gazette,  Nov.  27. 

PLANTING  AND  PRODUCE. 
Persian  “White  Tea. ’’-^According  to  the  Keni 
UuUetin  a small  quantity  of  the  “ white  tea  ” of 
Persia,  as  it  is  called,  has  been  forwarded  by  Her 
Majesty’s  Consul  at  Ispahan  for  the  Museum  of 
Economic  Botany.  The  tea  proved  to  be  very 
similar  to  that  described  in  the  Bulletin  under  the 
name  of  P’u-erh  tea  in  1889.  The  finest  of  this  tea 
is  said  to  be  reserved  for  the  Court  of  Peking.  The 
sample  from  Yezd  was  composed  of  the  undeveloped 
leaf  but  buds,  so  thickly  coated  with  fine  hairs  as 
to  give  them  a silvery  appearance.  The  liquor  from 
the  Persian  white  tea  was  of  pale  straw  colour  with 
the  delicate  flavour  of  good  China  tea.  It  is  known, 
but  now  little  appreciated,  in  the  English  market.  The' 
following  particulars  respecting  it  were  communicated 
by  Messrs.  Gow,  Wilson,  and  Stanton; — “This 
class  of  tea  has  been  very  scarce  during  the  last 
few  years  upon  the  London  market,  the  price  which 
the  English  trade  were  prepar.1l  to  pay  being  very 
unsatisfactory  compared  with  that  which  could  be 
obtained  in  Persia.  In  London  this  class  of  tea  is 
called  ‘flower  pekoe  congou,’  and  the  last  lot  that 
we  remember  having  seen,  which  w.as  some  two  or 
three  years  ago,  we  ourselves  sold  to  a client  iu 
Constantinople,  the  tea  evidently  being  destined  for 
the  Persian  market.  For  home-  consumption  this 
tea  is  not  worth  much  more  than  Is  per  pound,  but 
for  export  purposes  good  specimens  command  as  much 
as  3s  to  5s  per  pound.” 
The  Competition  in  the  Tea  Trade.— The  energy 
and  enterprise  shown  iu  the  pushing  of  packet 
and  other  teas  are  remarkable,  and  there  seems 
no  limit  to  the  devices  employed  to  catch  buyers. 
Nearly  all  the  articles  comprised  in  the  furnishing 
trade,  including  pianos,  have  been  offered  at  one 
time  or  another  to  the  purchaser  of  a given  quantity 
of  tea,  and  now  we  notice  the  following  advertisement; 
“ Free.— One  lesson  (twenty  minutes)  on  violin  oj 
