6. No “getting up heat” required. In fifteen minutes after beginning to light the fire the apparatus is ready for work. 7. Requires no troublesome cleaning out. 8. Quantity. The apparatus is capable of drying at least 40 lbs. an hour, and has frequently dried over 50 lbs. 9. Quality of Tea is equal to that obtained by any process hitherto introduced. Of course all the above was very favourable, and its low price gained it many purchasers. I think, as a _first_ success, it beat any machine yet invented. But, alas! its fall was sudden as its rise, for, judging from several letters in the _Tea Gazette_, the purchasers were not satisfied with its capabilities, and I doubt consequently if it is now manufactured; still I may be wrong. _Allen’s Tea Drying Apparatus._--I have never seen this, and have not heard much about it. Advantages claimed for it are--1. Quick drying. 2. Coke can be used as a drying agent, 10 seers to one maund of Tea. 3. Only manual labour required. 4. Not necessary to turn the Tea. 5. Perfect control over temperature. I have three testimonials to its merits before me, one from an engineer, and all three speak highly of it. The following letter from the inventor to the _Tea Gazette_ gives further information:-- ALLEN’S PATENT DRYING MACHINE. Dear Sir,--Some time back your valuable paper contained a description and rough drawing of my Patent Drying Machine. I now beg to say that the machine is in the market. I will simply state here that it can dry one maund of Tea per hour, or about equivalent to four maunds of leaf. It cannot burn the Tea as in other machines, yet it thoroughly dries it at one fill of the machine. It takes half a maund of Tea at each fill, and every leaf of this is done in exactly the same time; no turning over, changing of trays, or further looking after the Tea, after the roll has been placed in the machine on the trays. Temperature can be lowered from 300° to 100° in two or three seconds, and run up again in five to seven minutes. It will burn any fuel. Fireplace 2-1/2′ × 3′, when kept regularly three quarters full of firewood or coal about 6 to 8 inches thick, while machine is drying, will suffice (half a maund of fuel to a maund of Tea should be ample). The appearance and fine flavour of Tea dried in this machine by fan beats charcoal; no gloss is lost on the Tea from shaking up and turning over, and the Tea is black, with glossy appearance and good flavour. The following are valuation and reports on this machine’s dried Tea, by Messrs. William Moran and Co., to whom some of bulk or rough Tea was sent.--Yours, &c., J. C. ALLEN. I omitted to extract the broker’s reports, but they were favourable. I think it likely this Dryer is well suited to small gardens, which cannot afford steam motive power.