MELBOURNE EXHIBITION.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7142, 1 September 1888, Page 5

MELBOURNE EXHIBITION.

SOME OF THE EXHIBITS. (B-to_ obb _•____. oo__si——Ei*n_l MELBODBNE, August _. -, THE MOSGIEL COMPAN- S KKHLBrra . A large plate-glass case, 20ft x 10ft, vrt_n wo side cases, facing tho Grand Avenuo £•■ Nations, contains tho magnificent -Uection of woollen goods sent by tbo losgiel Woollen Company. It is worthy f more than passing mention, from tho —t that there is a much greater variety 1 the style and treatment of tho wools han (Is shown In any other colonial xhlbits of the kind In any part of _— ast building, covering an area altogether t about forty acres. It is an exhibit a which all New Zealanders justly take proat pride, the only regret being that the _iapoi, Boss and Glendining'-, the VVeL ington, and other milts have not thought t to their advantage to display their ;oods. Thero can be no doubt, looking at he designs and the great variety of tha a-ticl— shown, that New Zealand is defined to play a prominent part In the Southern Hemisphere in the i__u_ct_e if woollen goods. Whether It be # due to he superior texture of the wool, tho mrity of tho water, or the iniluenqe of •lunate, the fact —mains tliat Victoria, vith a quarter of a century of high pro;ective duties, cannot ahow oj-yth—g ipproaching to this exhibit, and all the. ither colonies must " take a back seat," so ar as woollen goods aro concerned. It is iot the first time that Mosgiel has been to he front, for at the Melbourne Exhibition f IB—-— a recommendation was made hat the firm should be awarded the .mperor of Germany's prize. But l_e Jirectors of the Company have not bev_ ontent with their laurels ; they havo goi— m Improving in every possible directioxi. tnd are now able to produce patterns suit. Mc for all climates, and for tlie artisan as veil as merchant. So far as wear and tear s concerned, I hear a good account of the Victorian goods, but I am told; that the lyes vvill not stand the bright sunshine uore than a few months. With oixr New -ealand goods it is quite different, and the act Is becoming more widely known here. Che genial manager of the Mosgiel I—•' ory, Mr John H. Morrison, who appears o be almost as well known here as in New .ealand, informs mc tliat the goods were iot specially manufactured for the Exhilition, but wero taken from stock made or the winter and spring trade. These. laabeen no standing still; whenever imv irovetnents have been made in machinery, >r newer and better methods have been ntrodiiced, they have been adopted. Chough the price may seem high lv comxjrison with shoddy manufactures, the 'ood article is found to be the cheapest in he long run. Cheap coal is an important actor In all manufacturing industries, — this respect the Mosgiel Factory iias A rreat advantage, for the coal, wliich ia. ouud in the neighborhood, costs only st_ idper ton at the furnaces, whereas here. ust now, inconsequence of tho threatened trike at Newcastle, tho coal import—s iave raised the price to 40s per ton. \T_J vater for dyeing is obtained from neverailing springs, indigo wood vats being; ised for giving clear, fresh, lasting olora as a base, particularly rOr nuea, blacks and greens. Mr Morrison. ;ells mc that the Australian and New sealand atmosphere is very trying fop nferior colors dyed by other methods, nud n a conversation I bud with Sir James Sector, the latter attributed to a groat yttent our success over Victoria to the superiority of the New Zealand clima—. Che tweeds and cloths shown by the Mos'iel Company comprise a wide range s or iexture, from the finest merino wool dresa ituffs tor ladles to heavy milled Melton md whipcord saddle tweeds for gentle- 1 pen; coatings, in fine worsted and wool nixtures; and vestlngs in new spots and ight checks, and trouserings In worsted md stripes of the finest merino dlk. There is also a good display of the blue and scarlet uniform cloths _ed by the Permanent Artillery, Volunteers* and police force in New Zealand. Looking at them one day, I entered Into conversation with a few of the Victorian Permanent Artillery. " I wish," said one, "we could get stuff of that kind to wear. : We never can put a soldierlike appearance on our clothes, do what we may. We might brush them for a week, and stilk thejf would not appear clean." Shepherda plaids, semi-tropical tweeds, and light _ecks appear in goodly array; "whula tennis and cricketing flannels, in.-whits grounds, with bright lines across, tend to brighten the display and make tractive. The large «*ane 1b .a_-.dr_ play, but those at the sides havo been wisely left open,-so that visitors are able to touch the goods and judge of; their quality. Blankets and soft serges havo a snow-white appearance— there Is no shoddy there. But ls it not curious to reflect, as we look at these exhibits, that here In Melbourne •' woollen " blankets ar« sold at less per pound than the grower __> ceives for It in a scoured 9 tnte. Of course, this can only be done by the manu_—to - — blending cotton with the broken, ft—W{ from the combing machines. There._:;;§ profusion of rugs, mauds, plaid-.soe Shawls in a great variety of design-aid coloring; tho " cosy " rug, for travellers M trains and steamers, containing _~dou.bio lined poc_et for enclosiug the feet ana keeping them warm, with ano_er pockin^front for the hands. Hosiery, underClothing, fancy shawls, skirts, scoxves, under-vests, and other goods, complete the display; while a ram of the Chaviof breed, prepared in fine style by Ml Jennings, taxidermist at the Otago Museum, imports an air of realism to WM whole affair. ; • . , ; It may not be out of place here to ataM that the Otago Provincial Council having offered a bonus of £1500 in the year: __S{ for the successful establishment — t woollen industry. Mr Arthur J. .Bums a member of the Council at thai time, conceived the Idea of convert ing hia flour mill at Mosgiel into « woollen manufactory. He proceeded tc Scotland, purchased machinery, and en gaged hands In the n_nu_c tu_ag towns The first piece of cloth was turned out ii October, 1871, and some of the rugs madj in that year are still prized by thei owners. Bough they were, withoutif thi flniab or fineness of touch so much _ vogue now, bnt being made of geuuln wool, to wear them out has been no eaa matter. The industry grew, aud M Bums, ia order to kee _. pace with requiK ments, formed a limited liability compaa bo as to increase the machinery, tmlft_, the buildings, &c The capita, of the lo_ nany now ataads at £—,000 in Xii.oo .hares of _3 10s each. In —77 _ John Dryden, the present mill manage! sue—eded Mr John Small, who wa brought out by Mr Burns to manage th feetory, but who died that year. To — Dry-den's exertions, as well _ to those c the general manager, Mr Morrison, i_» has been fourteen or fifteen yearn in ta Comoany'a service, the success of th' Industry Is largely due. The -tampan; employs about 400 people, one-half beinj females, who are engaged in weaving grinding, and flniahing cloths, hosiery &c ; while the men, youths, and boys di the heavier work, such aa carding ana spinning. The factory manufactures 201 bales m—ol every year, and turns ou about 12,000 pieces of tweed cloth pc annum, in addition to large quantities o rugs, blankets, flannels, and other wool—; goods of various kinds. Thus from ama begLnnings has the old flour mill at Mos giel grown into one of the premier Indm tries of Australasia. Mr E. Bethell, C Flinders lane west, who is the Melbourn ageat, informs mc that the demand fc the Company's manufactures is steadon the increase, and he anticipates thi the Exhibition will still further teu to augment the demand, for, h_ he been disposed to do retail bus ness, he could have disposed of all tl rugs the day after tho Exhibition opene The whole of the Mosgiel exhibits' b_ beenpir—based. t>y -deasrs "William Wa—< Mid Sons, warehoasemen. AGRICTJLTUBAL MACT_I_NiER"_. A sepanite Court has been set apart t the ag—cultural machinery from all t colonies. The show, in this reape—, la - go good aa one would expect, and it sufsomewhat from the way the machinery scattered about. I saw an Ingen—oa co tiriyan-qe from the Wimmera, showing: t action of a stump-jumpii-K plough, aud the real plough gets on half rs well as & model, it woula prove a boon to mai farmers on totara land in New Zrfjaland, j well as to those on gnxn-tre&JanO • Victoria. _)bking aroimM ***££ on a placard iv large letters. »v*g Macdoikld and Co., prior I had n«t

throughont the colonies as It was at one time at political meetings in the Empire City, when Sir George Grey, like Mr Charles Stuart Parnell, was the "uncrowned king." lam sorry I missed the ple—_— of a chat with my old acquaintance, for he is a fellow of infinite jest, yet withal of a thoroughly practical bent. I was also unlucky in missing Mr Beaven(of theCanterbury—achineWorks). who had only left a few minutes before I Rtrotl— around. Messrs Andrews and Beaven exhibit the Canterbury portable chaff-cutters, fitted with 11 and 12in months, knives, riddles, dust elevators, and patent duplex baggers for pressing the chaff into bags; a corn-crusher, fitted with patent automatic self-regulating feed, patent duplex automatic bagger to fix to building for bagging chaff; and the patent automatic Zealand— bagger, with selfcontained frame, for bagging chaff. Messrs Booth, Macdonald and Co. exhibit a 10ft folding disc harrow, a cultivator, the patent skeith-centie used on all the ploughs turned out at the Carlyle Works, a wool press, and a windmill. Messrs P. and D. Duncan show double and single furrow ploughs; disc harrow, 18 discs, loin; disc harrow, 20 discs, 18in, with seed box attached; a grain, seed, and manure drill combined. Mr A. Sander, of Timaru, sends- a grass-seed stripper and dresser. As usual, Messrs Reid and Gray, Dunedin, are up to the mark with several of their well-known exhibits, which, with those from Christchureh. are equal to any I have seen in the Exhibition.

THE AGRICULTURAL DAIRY

Taking a turn round to the Agri" i enltural Dairy on Saturday, I made the J acq—in tan cc of the manager, Mr D. j Wilson, a practical fanner from the j Balls—t district, who was one of the first to see the benefits of the De Laval cream separator. No better man, it seems to mc, i could b* picked out for the work. He is j an enthusiast, and it takes several en- J ___sts to persuade some of the | farmers that the old ways will not j do. Like m_nv of us in New Zea- , land, Mr Wilson clearly sees that t the dairy farmers must be prepared, like ■ the wool-grower or the wheat-grower, to j export his surplus if he is to do any good or get any recompense for his hard labor, j He told mc that he had to explain more as j to the nature of the separators to people from New Zealand than to those who come from all the other colonies. "But I notice you are getting on," he remarked tome. '* I saw the other day over one hundred casks of New Zealand butter. I dont know from what part, but I have not seen anything yet in the colonies so uniformly •good. You have the climate, that is greatly in your favour." He considers, and has proved.it himself, that there is plenty of demand for our surplus butter, if it is sent Home at the right time and is of a fairly good quality. " But it will not pay to send home ra ibbish." There are four cream separators at work, one of which was set going on Saturday afternoon by a steam Jet. The butter, which is made in the building, is sold readily at -sperpound, the cream at a high price, and skim milk ■t 3d a glass. I remarked that the latter charge was rather high, and that the ___ milk was sold at the Wellington Exhibition at Id a glass. ••Yes-** remarked Mr Wilson, with a merry twinkle in his eye, " but we have more money here.** He told mc that the person who supplied the milk got the batter, cream, and skim milk back, so that he should do very well, as he has a free sale in the building. Veiy great interest Is taken by ail classes in the working dairy, and it must be a sort of revelation to some of the hard-working B oncers who come down from the back ocks. I told Mr Wilson I represented the Canterbury Press, and he said he would be happy on another occasion to give mc further particulars. __ I »aw the "baby" cream separator, suitable for those who milk a few cowsThere is a little story in connection with It which is worth relating. The Premier, the Hon. Duncan Gillies, was intently looking at the working of the " baby one day, when its metal cap flew off, and the dust—— coat and pants and spotle-w shirt of the Premier got coated all over by the cream which the " baby ** irreverently discharged. The Premier is a wee bit excitable at times, and it is hinted that he anathematised tbe "baby" and all its works. They do say he has not been to the Agricultural Dairy since, and that any mention of the "baby" is likely to draw forth something in the nature of a "big, big D." I was more fortunate than the Premier. I took some inside Instead __ outside. A NEW METHOD OF STRINGING PIANOS. Mess— Milner and Thompson, of Christchurch, have sent a piano, the strings of which are fastened on a novel principle. The frame is of solid metal, made strong enough to bear every possible strain put anon it. As wood i« entirely eschewed, it iscantended that there Is not the same liability to atmospheric changes a. to mBtruments where wood is used. The frames, strings, and their fastenings being aU made of metal, the great—t precision can be depended on, and further tunings avoided. The chief advantages claimed— r tfr-fo new method are—l. That the capacity of the piano for standing in tune is Ki__y increased ; 2. The ease with which cdanoe can be tuned owing to the extreme delicacy and precision by which the screw operates; 3. In the better quality of musical—mes secured by the accurate holding, more perfect vibrations of the strings beIng secured, while to a great extent the beavy treble frame, which obstructs tbe action of the sound board, can be dispensed with. The invention, which appears to be exceedingly simple, has attracted a good deal of attention, and there is no exhibit in the 2*—w Zealand Court which has been more closely scrutinised. I have beard various valuations as to the monetary value of Mr R. Thompson's patent, the figures ranging from £10,000

to £40,000. As the musical world is well tepr-sent— at the Exhibition, particularly in the German Court, I would advise Mr «■ Thompson to take a run over if he can i spare the time and money. This ought to 1 be an excellent opportunity for putting _ Ids Invention to the best advantage. If a - Melbourne man happened to produce anytiling of the kind, nis friends would at J once advise him to form a Company with i £100,000 capital to work it. And it would < nrobably float just now. j HYDRAULIC RAILWAY LEFT. t Another New Zealand invention which l ______ attracted a good deal of notice, espe- ' ciallT amongst engineers and scientists, lathe hydraulic railway lift,patented by ' __xGeorve A—croft, late marlager of the Keteon-Foxhill railway, and for many ■, •man manager of the Wellington railways. < _H_© -vrorfciiig model renders the plan . easily understood. though it is not quite so—st to describe it The idea of the J Invento r-s,thatinamount_nousco untry, i oo the side of the hill where it is desirable i -to lift the train an inclined railway can - __ constructed. This, in the model, is ; shown at —deg., though Mr Ashcroft tftiwfe-, that about 45deg. would be the 1 angle usually adopted, but to a great ex- < tent that would have to depend on the natural eo-afoi—ation of the country. At the bottom of this railway he would place , a\ bridge, upon which the train would ran, * being sec—ed there by stop blocks. Hy- ' 5-_cd— cylinders, with rams, would be ■ Tirovid—, and these would be connected , trlthaccnmul-—rs,as well as with valves— . % small engine or a water or electric motor, : whichever would be found cheapest in the ' particular locality, keeping the ace-inula- i tors charged. The train being properly _ aec_-ed on the bridge, the valves would be , opened, and the whole would then ascend to a higher level: the blocks securing the train on the bridge beinz loosed, the -whole train running off the oridge on to the h_her level; while tbe process would be reversed when the train had to be ' towered. The inventor considers that the i hr _—die cylinders would be secure from ; -St «?*ident, but he proposes to fit every , -_Z|_Ee with a system of brakes, in case the very i_-.pn»ba_le event should happen of all the .xlluders going at the same time Mr Ash"* o*c0 * c inform.- mc that he has v.**th the Midland Railway Conn—ay, and thin—! that his mveution has only to be carefolly consider— co -ooer-de the Abt system. He had many years practical experience of the working of the Kimntaka Junction, and, no donOt that had a _cniat deal to do in Bnggesttng the invention. VVharever may be—.c result when applied on a lanwr scale, the working, as »hv- •* v by the model, is of the sin-pie— kind. .....i 1 beard mote i than one engineer express a favpiable j opinion as to its merits. By the way, I lEdghtmention that the Victorian Institute of Civil Kngineers conferred the degree of honorary membership oa Mr Ashcroft. and promi*sed to devyte a night to the discussion of Uie merits of his iuvestlou. A CALEDONIAN BARD. -The genial bard of tbe Chriatchurch Cft-edoeL-n Society, Mr W. J -Vrpison, -rbo was a —How-passpntrer of mine from Auckland to Sydney, thence to 5.«*4-ourne, will deliver 'hi- first Wiure at. Athe_a?um to-ni§hi: f under the auspices ot , the Melbourne Caledonian Society, which i ta a very strona body here, having * roll of j about 730 members, and some of the most I prominent merchants, proft—ional men, v

I politicians, Sec, in its ranks. I have heard Mr Ferguson's lectures on the i " Long Winters of Scotland" favorably spoken of, and I have no doubt he will meet with as favorable a reception here as he did in Christchureh, Wellington, Auckland, and other places in New Zealand. %At least I hope so, for he is a right worthy i good fellow.