50 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jay., 1898. 
is supposed to be spread onan average 1 in. deep. If spread 14 in. or 2 in. deep, 
less barbecues would be required, but a correspondingly longer time required 
to dry, and the longer the time occupied by each drying—say, over 34 days— 
the more the quality is liable to suffer. Owing to the changeable climate of 
Queensland, every facility for quick drying should be taken advantage of, 
ED . bh Gh 
(2) Cost of 400 square yards of barbecues com- 
pleted as above is very difficult to estimate— 
would likely average from 12s. 6d. to 20s., 
say 16s. per square yard... aan) ay BHA OW) 
Sheds, about 180 ft. long x 8 ft. wide, with 
timber flooring 
: eee Ap Oe og IM aw 
Rakes—12 patent rakes run -on galvanised 
: iron rails—on galvanised hoop iron 
sleepers—3 parallel lines running full 
length of each barbecue, costing, total ... 15 0 O 
Total cost for full crop + .. 485 0 0 
Outlay for first crop (one-third only) 145 0 0 
Balance—for second crop... ... £290 0 0 
(6) Improved System—Hepburn’s Patent Sun- 
drying Apparatus: 
189 galvanised iron trays perforated all round 
and lined with perforated zinc, atl5s. ... 141 15 0 
189 stands at 2s. 6d. (£23 2s. 6d.), and 21 
patent rakes at 10s. Gd. (£11 Os. 6d.), ... 8413 0 
Sheds, about 128 ft. x 7 ft. (no timber 
flooring), about =... 4% xe . 43138 6 
6 
Total aS, Pe Oe 
Of this total £220, about £75 required for first crop—the balance £145, for 
second crop. 
The relative cost for smaller areas would be almost pro rata. There 
would, however, be a slight advantage in favour of the larger areas cultivated. 
Ona small estate, with 1,900 trees, three trays and two rakes would dry the 
first crop; with six trays more—in all, nine trays and two rakes—a full crop 
~could be dried. The rake used on wet coffee beans should not be used on the 
beans in a dried state. Two rakes are thus the minimum number, but each 
rake is sufficient for nine or ten trays. 
Fiji and other island coffee, of low grade and badly cured, is landed and 
sold in Sydney wholesale at 73d. to 9d. per lb. clean coffee. Queensland clean 
coffee, when properly cured, would bring in the Sydney market 9d. per lb. or 
more. If we were competing in Sydney against Fiji coffee, the latter would 
drop in price, and probably 8d. might be the best price -to be obtained for 
Queensland coffee. This, however, is anticipating by a few years. 
No coffee has been grown yet on a sufficiently large scale, or under such 
approved conditiors and economical management, as to give correct data to 
closely estimate the net profit on any given area. The local price given by the 
merchants for parchment-cured coffee in the beginning of the year (1887) was 
9d.; it now averages 8d., and less when improperly cured. . No approximate 
estimate can be given as to the price to be obtained in London. The 
Agricultural Department obtained advice on two parcels shipped last year~ 
average value, 40s. per cwt. The curing was in fault. 
