JULY I, 1891.] 
THE TnOPIOM. /WUmnJLTOmST. 
63 
Biaoocoa as withering machines 
IMPORTANT. 
June let, 
l)KAn SiH, — If “ Proprietor (who has no con- 
nexion with any engineering businesB)" will read 
Ihe following directions and adhere to them he 
need never have more than two days’ leaf in store 
in any weather : — 
A Sirooeo is almost a perfect withering machine. 
Pass any leaf that has no water actually on it 
through the trays in the usual maoner at a 
temperature of 170’ to 180’— not more — loading 
the trays as full as they will go in, and as rapidly 
as a man can 1111 them. Throw the contents of 
each tray as it comes out into an ordinary carrying 
basket, pressing the loaf down well with the hand. 
After the basket is full, which will take about 7 
minutes, let it stand about lU minutes lo 15 minutes 
according to the oouditiou of the leaf. Then take 
the leaf to the roller, beginning of course with 
the first basket — and roll without any pressure for 
half un hour. At the end of that time take the leaf 
out of the roller and return it to the baskets, press- 
>Qg it down as before with the hand. Let it stand 
half-an-hour, (whilataseoond roll of leal similarly pre- 
pared is being rolled alter which place it again in the 
roller and give it another 40 minutes, using pressure 
towards the end. Then lift and fire immediately, 
the fine leaf of course first. The “roll" will bo found 
luite suffieientiji fermented and as soft as silk, and 
give a bright infusion and a slightly pale 
pungent and fiavoury liquor. 
The sirocco I use lor withering is one of the 
old 8. trays. In two rows in siroccos with four rows 
of trays. Only the two lower rows should be used 
and the leaf passed through and back again so as 
not to be too loug exposed to the beat. I put 
“16 lb. of leaf, weighed before h- aling, into a 32" 
"Rapid" and 105 lb into a “ Kinmond." 
1 may add that I have been wi hering from 4,000 
JO 6,Ouo lb, of leal a day for the last ten days in 
tlie above manuer, and the annexed copy of the 
London brokers’ report on a shipment of Tea 
similarly treated last year will shpw that the 
quality of the tea so made is satisfactory. — Yours 
laithfully, M. H. T. 
„ Sold 23rd September 1890i — s. d. 
*1 Chests Pek. Sou. Ra: coarse mixed sold at 10 
to i 7 c” Roldinirat mixed ... ..10 
to nu ^bi-sU Or. Pck. Hold wiry with tip .., 1 2 
2 Chests Bro. Pok. good stylo with tip ... I Sj 
cood mtui-od leaf ra : strong liquor with fair flavour 
THE “BRITANNIA" DRIER, 
_ Lubookellie, Juno 3rd. 
Leab Srn, — It will doubtless be of interest to 
many of your readers who may be unable to make a 
person^ inspection of this machine which has been 
at work boro sinoe gist ultimo, if I supply a few 
Uotails as to its capabilities. With this obieot in 
lew 1 do not think I oan do belter than quote 
he results of a triat I made of the machine 
yesterday, when, at a temperature of 205 to 2f0 
egreos, and passing the leaf through twioe, the 
tier gave 30- lb. dry tea jj, hour. The day 
® umirly flue one, and suoh satisfactory returns 
oould not bo obtatried i„ very wot weather, but 
up?, no doubt that the drying oapaoity of the 
Britannia at low temperature, is far in advance 
Of any maohine wo have yet had to deal with. 
‘’y “ Britannia” is due 
mainly to the fact that the fan is a very powerful 
Til-,.’ j a large quantity of air from anim. 
proved form of stove through the leaf, and that 
ud!- ®“ endless chain, as 
“v ® •“® aeparate endless chains in the 
lotoria" thus presenting a greatly increased surface 
of leaf to the action of the air. In the ‘‘Victoria, ” 
half the chains are always carrying empty trajs ; 
in the “Britannia*' the tray b ooutainiog the leaf go 
right through the machine without tipping until 
they come to the discharge hopper. Aa regards 
fuel the “BrilariDiu** is mure economical than the 
“Victoria” and is more easily vvorkid by the coolies, 
while less liable to get out of order. — Yuur faithfully, 
A, F. GOBBI B. 
DIGGING AND MANUBING COCONUTS. 
June 6lh. 
D£A.a Sia, — The commuuioation on the wonderful 
effect on oocouut pluuta oi tli^-ging the soil is very 
iutt^reatiiig. Muy 1 esk your correspondent to give us 
some information a» to tbe situation ot the lauu that was 
dug, the co'upo itiuii of the soil, whether the laud was 
dog m connection wi<h garden cultivation or indepeu- 
doiicof it, and vvaotlicra* aatisiaotory results follow dig- 
gli g the soil biglicr up u as at its bottom where 
all the wash and ashes have been depOfited by rains f 
A strange fatality seems to follow my agricultural 
opuratious. My i]l-^ucce*is with paddy 1 recorded 
lately, lu IbhtmiO I forked the soil ronud the plants 
of 120 acren of young plantations, with 12 pruning 
forks, and gave each plant u bushel of ashes besides, 
but the results were nothing like what your corres- 
pondent records — Truly yours, B. 
JAK SEED FLOUR. 
Sia, — Whilst I was amusing myaoif in readiog your 
valuable journal of tho 3rd instant, my attention was 
very much drawu towards au article hcadiog “ Flour 
from Jak Seed.*' U<iving read throughout, 1 am glad 
to take this opportunity of giving the little experi* 
tnee I have bad^of the above question, for the luior* 
mationof your earnest and pruspecuve correspondent. 
It 1 remenibs-r rightly my tirst trial of making j. k seed 
flour was about five) ears Hgo, since then 1 tuok no in- 
terest whate ver. The methud is s mple enough, similar 
to that of arrowroot flour making. Tue oaly ad’« 
ditional work ia to put the seed (not dried) aftei peel- 
ing into well toiled water, and Bave it for a short 
time, and proceed according to the manner in which 
arrowroot is prepared, which I needn't repeat to yuur 
worthy correspoudeul. Whan, the aiadis being pounded, 
it gives a jarnitg smell enough to make one feel quite 
disgusted to get on with the work. I managed to 
make about a half*a pound of flour, out of which some 
biscuits were prepared, with au admixture ot sugar, 
eggs, and milk and a little table-salt to avoid any iu* 
digestion taking placej<, the biscuits were palatable and 
nice, they wore very soft, and broken easily, perhaps 
owing to some deleclH in tho preparation. 
gards itsniitritious qualities I am not in a positjon to 
^tone for» but so tar I had nothing to complain of 
after my eating it. Anyhow it will not be advis.ibU 
for any one, who has any sort of windy complaints, to 
cat this stuff, which is so welknown to be windy.*^ 
1 am, yours, JAKSEBD. 
MATTERS AGRICULTURAL. 
Veyangoda, tfuno flth. 
Dbau Siu.^Littlo snrrrise will be felt when | say 
that 1 v^HB hor$ tie combat ever since I law yonr 
iinpreBsiou of the 2fltb nit. in which two adverse 
lo tors and au uver-ruwn footnote were levelled at me. 
1 slisll, with your pei mis-sion, notice bulb the letters 
in one communication, a>4 they aro both the oatcome 
of my letter cm Halt. But lor a bUio ler of “Old 
Planter ’* or yonr own proof*-rpadar in omitiing two 
iuvorto I commas, the reading pubdn would have been 
deprived of a very interesting bit of autobiography 
from iho pen of “ D.*' 1 should have th iught ihat 
so subtle au ihlelleot as ** D.’s ” would have detected 
thoomission, and that he wuld have seen that it was 
“ Old Planter ” and not Prof‘*ssor Geikio who was 
quoting Professor Johnstone. I made this very evi- 
Ueut ia my communication and iudicatod where Pro- 
