THE BOYS' CORNER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20112, 24 November 1928, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE BOYS' CORNER.

SHEARING TIME.

13Y D. KAIN. Chuck-a-chuck-a-chuck, the engine was pounding away, while overhead a long belt drove the wheels along. , In the shearers' hands were long clippers when went zizziz, as the shearers moved them ovor the sheep's hacks. Tho wool fell away, leaving the sheep smooth and white and vel-vety-looking. There was the "Wow! Wow!" of the dogs as the pons in the shed were being filled for the slhearers.

All this bustle and noiso rather bewildered Douglas as ho watched his cousin Jimmie making his way hero and there among the busy crowd; but he rather admired the beautiful clock-work way thincs sang in tune. They were standing on the board, a long, smooth «paco down one side of the shed. Across the board were pens of sheep waiting to be shorn. It was a six-stand board; that meant that six shearers each had a space lo stand and shear in. Their clippers were connected to tho belt overhead, which gave them power to zip,zip, clip, clip, through the wool.

At each shearer's feet was a small doorway. When his sheep was shorn he would turn its head through the porthole, and the sheep .would make off, glad of his release, to find himself in a small pen. Doug thought it was rather fun watching the sheep as the shearer 6at it down on the floor. It looked eo big with its long wool, then when it was shorn it seemed only about half the size. Hori, a big Maori, could shear a good deal faster than Timi, so his pen had a few more sheep in it than Timi's had. Doug gazed in wonder as Jimmie gathered up a big fieeco that lay on the floor and carried it along to the wool-table, and with one small throw lay it smoothly over the table. , Behind, a Maori girl, Bella, swept up the small pieces from tho board ana kept it clean, while Hori was into tho pen again drawing forth another.sheep, kangaroo fashion. At tho wool table, a table made of small boards like a era* a classer and Maori girl were busy at work, lhey skmed on lim unty ui niunt-u folded the sides over to tho middle and rolled the fleece up. Tho classer knew by the length and texture of tho wool how to class it. He put it into big, open cupboards at the back of him, marked A, B, C, or D. The finest and best went into A, the heavier and shorter into B, and so on.

Several Maori women were sitting crosslegged clipping away at the duly and matted pieces. They threw them into bags which were later pressed into bales and marked, " Bellies and Pieces." Some of the Maori women had babies tied on tc their backs. Such bright eyes they had. One tired tiny.thing was asleep in a safe corner on a wool bale. When Doug looked at it, it opened its eyes and rolled its little mouth up in a pucker, so he made off for dear life, while the Maori women laughed and said: "He don't know tho strange face." , Doug wanted to see the wool baled. The wool press stood on the floor, the top and bottom half, side by side like two big, empty boxes. The bottom half was lined with the wool bale. From the ,A wool cupboard the press hands took tho fleeces and filled each half of the press. Then when both sides were tightly packed they put an iron bar across one box the top one, then they called out, " Pull, boys, pull! " and they pulled it up in tho air by a rope which was connected to it, and brought it down upside down, on top of the other box. Then they pulled the bar out.

Doug was wondering how tho two boxes together, would make the wool into the size of a bale, for a bale was only tho size of one of the boxes. In the top of tho top bale an iron bar was connected to tho top. There were slits down the press for tho bar to come down. As the press hands worked up and down with a crowbar connected to this, it brought the bur and lid down at the same time. This was pressing the top half into the lower half. Then the lid clicked on to the lower box and _ the edges were caught on to tho outside of tho box and a man sewed the top of the bale on. The top of tho bale was under the lid. When the top of the press was lifted off there stood the bale, all tidy and ready to be branded with the station brand, its number and quality. " Great! AH solid and tight," said Doug.. ' Yes," said Jimmie, " but before it's shipped to England tho firms press two bales into one, and fasten them together with iron bands. By doing that, not so much space is used on the boats. Do you feel very hungry, because it's nearly ' smoko ' time ? " So they sat round and had " t smoko." Tho shed hands were hot and dusty from penning up the sheep and driving them in from the dusty yards, and tho shearers were greasy and sweaty from stooping over the sheop. They all had haif-an-honr for " smoko," half-an-hour in which to cool down, have a smoke, a drink of tea and something to eat. The Maori women smoked, too. Such spindly, thin cigarettes they made, but they seemed to enjoy them very much. After " smoko " Jimmie said, " Come on, Doug, let's see them mako tho ' tally *." Jimmie's father, tho Boss, as they called him, counted tho sheep in each shearer's pen as they streamed through a gate into a big yarding pen. Then ho put tho namo and number in his tailvbook. Hort and Timi, and the ruber shearers all kept their own fnllte* f™ »}■ e Hifforfillf IMIMC

The engine was once more banging, " churk-a m,< k-.-i <■ urk ' i ~| the man in chnrgo of the eng.'.« lie would touch something here mid the engine would spring into life, or touch something there and everything would stop. Doug loved to watch liim sharpening the clippers for the shearers. lie sharpened them on a big, round cmcrvwheel driven by the engine.. As they sharpened, little sparks flew here and. there from the emery-wheel. Doug was just a little hit in awe of the engine-shed, with its powerful machine and belts and hip wheels which cave power to the shearing machines alone the board.

" It's quite all right." the engineer told him, " as long as you don't come here with coat tails flying, or touch things vou know nothing about." At the end of the day there were nearly eight hundred sheep shorn. " What are you going to do with them ? " asked Done

" Come on, you'll seo," said Jimmie, as they took Lliem away from a small paddock next the sheep yards, and ho and Doug helped oiie of th? men on (ho station to drive them to a big paddock. Right willing the sheep were to go, too, for they were hungry, and walking was so much easier minus their hot. heavy eoats.

That night Doug was nearly asleep before his head touched the pillow, but not sleepy enough to hear Jimmio's, " Tired, old chap ? "

" Urn,*" he grunted. "Great, isn't it? Next thing will ho dipping. Good way off yet. Have to come out. then." " Dm, yes, rather," agreed Doug before he was sound asleep.