A LIFE'S SACRIFICE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 22, 21 October 1907, Page 2

A LIFE'S SACRIFICE.

'■ M; MAsf \VHO INVENTED THE ) •' 'SHEARING. MACHINE. .'. ' . .AND, PREJUDICE./: ■■ Ai ; .rdmiiftt|?! 'and somewhat pathetic history, is ittachod'-fq , tho'-introduction 1 of the; "T\olsoreyj"rtho'"first sheep-she.iring. machine. ,_■■ if \s. \y.plsejey, the'inventor, was'a big A\istiraji"an*" : 6!i;qep "farmer-''of Darling Downs. Ho'Wsth'e only brother of Lord Wolscley, tho;.fampu's;i' i ßritish general,- and, like, his brptS.bry)-PR»«essed"onormpus pluck. '.; . Trouble,: With the. Shearers. . '' "'Ha v - : hat( u trdul)lo "with -hisj shearers, as all squatters" listed' to , havo. ' Ho could not get themi'to/shear with that caro and nice precision'which the brother of a great/soldicr would instinctively desiro, 'and it irritated him sorely. "I'll ond all this," ho declared. "I'M -find something that will-make it next to impossible for theso men to shear badly, and leave a pound of wool on every 'sheep. I'll make a machine." . i . Ho wpfkgfJifluf.his resolution with .alipost; uhh'uiS?W'p\it^^tence/-His'mechanical,Vexi)erii; enco'"■"•was very slender, but his will ' was strong, and, being himself a sheep farmer, he had: the supreme advantage of knowing whajj,|he il wan,l;e.d. He worked at his machino for thirteen jears, pushing his way through, difficulties that -would havo. dismayed a weaker ,nfiii J "at the outset,' and sparing no failures wore'many, but the recoveries always followed; and by degree'stho Wolselcy, which is now at tho top - of the shoaring world,' : came forth 'into ; the• light Df-day,i a, workable'machine.; ■' A ! Great Sacrifice. J But thQ.jijheep station had, vanished.'lt had- to the realisation of a great dre*aln''o'f 'a great man: and AVolseloy— made' modern sheep farming,; pbssiblerSwas poor. . , , .•'• .■•■'. : . i jiiftljo. thirteenth yes\r. of. his 'diflv.i ciiities Wolseley came ricross Mr.. Hutcliirisbn, "well-known now in Now Zealand farming districts as Messrs. Levin and Co.'s shearing expert. Mr. Hutchinson was then just ojnergi%'"frrim ,; raw;youth J and gave some pro : more .satisfactory than tho Ordinary run of shearers'. 1 Ho had been through tho mill, starting as tho boy who picked : up"the-stray wool, and swopt tbo shed Mr. , Wolseley saw in him tho opera-tbfiithat-ho wanted for. developing tho real powers of his machino, and soon Mr. Hutciiinsoh became closely .'associated ivitluthe early history of a great invention. No Dividends.' ; The ma'ohino was first put bofore tho public in Melbourne in 1886, when a company., was formed develop' tho patent • rights. , Premises wore erected in Birmingham, England, for tho manufacture of the shearers, and agencies were established. But great prejudices tightened tho market, and seventeen years -passed>• beforo a single dividend was paid:- -What ,a. monument to tho patience of shareholders! Tho year of 1903—tho dividend a time of great , rojoicings. Wolsoley * the company, is now solid. It is rooted in extensive premises on nino British acres of Birmingham, and still tho extensions continue., But Wolsoley, tho , imlAortal inventor, is dead. /. . . Prejudices; ;',.•,, ■■-.•; -. •■. •' ; I'ianhcrs, i like ■■ hugo armies, move slowly, and Vt'hby a,re thereforo called prejudiced, 'lliey did'iibt thinkJt possible to properly •i!on\ovo tho wool from a sheep's back by a macu'iho, and it was hard to mako them look at thoi early Wolseloys. Then tho shearers themselves regarded tho machines as their natural enemies, and made littlo effort to ;jSFovo ,tlie&,.value;. It: Whtf Mr. Hutchinson Iwlio fi?st ei?abiished their; capabilities: .- Ho jyas wijrking" in a slied at: Dunlpp, N.S.Wy, =\s4th fortjsifn'en, all .of'whom were firmly, contho '■•■ man was born; who coulcKsshear lK ,loo sheep-in,a, day with the crocliijty mj((;hine. They .'rogarded it vas ail awkward toy, a cranky fad," a nuisance But Mr. ifutciiinsoii'. was "perfecting himself iii its uso, and when one day he finished his 100 sheep there was a feeling of surprise and oxcitenicnt in tho shed- The men now viewed the queer tubes,with more.-respect,, and soon .f)t!iprs;:scored;':tlieir-hundred per day;, as tho machino itself became improved. Hutchm-son's-rspeed-vincreased to 213. in'a day.-. .Overwhelming, Benefits. , viii.lt'iwa'B'-'How objected that, machines spoiled the wOdlf-'but this was easily '.proved., in■doTrdct; v . v and oil:tho contrary thoro were distinct o'advantages0'advantages .obvious. . The machine easily takos half a pound moro of wool from eacli shoe]) than do tho hand shears, and even •if-the lo"st'- half-pound would ho recovered in ;fibe noxt.>clip, it is lost at all events once ''in* the* sheep s"lifetiiiM. As tho lifoof ii sire%'"is'iib6ut four : years, the actual annual Ibssr.wojild- bo about Jib—or lOOOlbs. every voar,in a Hock of 8000 sheep. In a flock of 2'OjObO sli'cdp'tlio loss in'ono year equals'the cost of tlicr-Tvliolo outfit for tlireo stands.