In March, 1881, so satisfied was I even then with the Dryer (both the manager, Mr. Pillans, at Phoolbarry, and I am still more so _now_), I wrote the following to the _Tea Gazette_, and I give it here as details are embodied:-- KINMOND’S TEA DRYER. To all interested in Tea in India, and their name is legion, Tea manufacturing machinery and its capabilities must be a subject of great interest. Though Tea prices may, and I think to a certain extent will, revive, the old scale which existed previous to the late serious fall will never probably return. How serious the fall has been will be appreciated when I state that gardens which previously realised 14 annas to 1 rupee for their produce think now they do well if they obtain an average of 10 annas. Thus, an average of 12 annas (even if the partial rise I hope for takes place) will probably be more than most Indian plantations will get in the future. In two words, the Tea industry of India is passing through a period of depression and a crisis which argues “the survival of the fittest.” Not only must plantations, destined to last, produce largely, they must also make good Teas at a small cost. This latter, I hold, both as regards quality and economy, _can_ only be attained by the use of machinery; and thus, what is the best kind of rolling machine, the best description of dryer, equaliser, and sifting apparatus, is an all-important point. Tea machinery is still quite in its infancy. Various as are the machines in use, and superior as some are to others, perhaps none of them are yet quite perfect. Still, planters cannot afford to wait for ultimate perfection, for though any machines bought to-day will probably be more or less out of date in a few years’ time, he who waits _must_ go to the wall in the meanwhile. Realising this fact, as those who know the subject do, they (and they are many) ask eagerly:-- “Which of the several machines for the different processes in Tea manufacture shall we buy?” I have not now, perhaps, the knowledge to discuss fairly the several merits of the various machines for each different process, but as Tea Dryers hold an important place in the list, and I have, perhaps, an exceptional experience of one kind, I purpose to give your readers the benefit thereof.