Agricultural and Pastoral. SHEEP WASHING.

Otago Witness, Issue 838, 20 December 1867, Page 14

Agricultural and Pastoral. SHEEP WASHING.

The subject of sheep washing is interesting at the present time, as many of the wool growers in this Province are adopting the new method of cleansing wool by means of hot water and spouts, with soap and soda. A late number of the Australasian contains a communication from Mr C. H. Macknight, a gentleman of well-known reputation as a wool grower, "which contains a number of useful hints upon preparing wool for market. To prove the value of the new system over the old, he states the following facts, for the correctness of which he says he can vouch : — " Last season, the wool on a station adjoining this was well washed in cold water, in the old way. The two stations are of the same natural character and -quality, being portions of the same geological formation. The ordinary station -sheep here also are very similar in quality, ages, and sexes to those there. The wool on this station was washed as I shall hereafter describe. After deducting all expenses on both clips, the nett results in London were as follow : — The sheep washed with hot water and spouts yielded three-quarters of an ounce less wool per head than the sheep washed in cold water and without spouts. But the former netted Is B|-d more of money per head than the latter. "Tt is scarcely possible that a fairer trial with regard to country, character of sheep, and all other particulars, could have taken place. Such facta as these would seem to render argument unnecessary. Yet, as Mr Currie observes, it is strange with what tenacity many old settlers cling to cold water, and the fancied advantages of weight, and thoroughly believe that it is a great mistake to wash 'too well.' But the above results show that while the price given for bright wool Is far higher than for dingy, the real difference of weight is much less than i# generally supposed. The fact is that the yolk is not taken out by the best hot water washing much more than by cold. If a piece of wool be cut off a sheep leaving the wash here, and be dried in the snn, it will be found full of bright sparkling yolk. There is, therefore, no necessity to give the yolk time to rise, for it is there. And as the wool will be the brighter the sooner it is shorn, no longer time should be allowed to elapse than that necessary to diy the fleece thoroughly. Two days of fair weather is sufficient for that purpose. The wool then shorn is found in the shed to be so full of yolk as perceptibly to affect the fingers and clothes of those handling it. By shearing whenever the fleece is dry it is kept bright, and is yet soft and mellow to the touch. The amount of yolk thus retained renders the wool of higher value than that from which it is altogether extracted, as by scouring." Mr Macknight says he is satisfied that the high-pressure spouts will be found far superior to any other agent that has yet been discovered for getting-up wool thoroughly well in the shortest space of time. After a trial of two seasons, during which the most careful observations were made, he became convinced that no amount of batteries alone, with any pressure, will ever turn out first-rate work. In fact, the more pressure that is applied, and the more water that is thrown, the more impossible it becomes for the jets to penetrate the fleece, because it is the more closely clapped down. "A careful study," he says, "of the action of the spout appears to lead to the following conclusions : — That in order to insure the best possible results from spouting, it is necessary that three conditions be fulfilled, viz. : — First, that the sheep be floating. This is necessary for two reasons, because the wool is more easily penetrated by a jet at the point of floatage, than Tinder any other circumstances, and because the sheep is more easily handled and turned when it the water than when out of it. So as to fulfil the second condition, which requires that the spout shall always strike the highest part of the cylinder represented by the sheep's body, every part of tl c cylinder must therefore, in Vim, be caused to become the highest. This condition is necessary in order that, if the jet fall perpendicularly, the water as it gravitates downwards may shed the wool to either side, thus assisting the jet to penetrate to the skin ; or if it strike at an angle, that there be no obstacle to prevent it from flying clear off at a tangent, combing out the wool to the skin as it goes, and carrying along with it every particle of dirt. Third, that only one jet shall be in action at the same time on the same body.

"It was from the evidence of the necessity of meeting these conditions that I became convinced that even the common open spout was far preferable to the battery as a finishing agent. But having ,a fall of twelve feet, I wished to utilise it. 3?o let an unconfined body of water fall

ten feet on a sheep was clearly out of the question. The idea of confining it in a frame then naturally presented itself. I therefore had two cases made, eight feet high by three feet wide, and four inches thick. Instead of allowing the jet to fall perpendicularly, the case is turned at the lower end, so that the water flies oxit at an angle. By this means, undoubtedly, a more perfect action is obtained, for the water all goes one way instead of two, as in a perpendicular jet. A division of labor is also obtained, in consequence of which the work is certainly more thoroughly done. B a very simple mechanical adjustment of male and female screws the thickness of the jet can be regulated to a hair's breadth, and the slit din be opened sufficiently wide to clear out any obstruction which may get into the spout. With a view of preventing such an occurrence, there was at first a wire netting over the upper end of the spout, but the effect was to diminish the force of the jet to a very great degree. It was therefore removed, and in lieu of it several nettings were placed at different points in the race, by which all substances which could interfere with the action of the spouts are stopped. These cases, or spouts, are fitted, into the bottom of the trough which receives the water ' of the race from the dam. They are closed at the top by a simple lid working on a wooden pivot hinge, and faced with leather to make them water-tight when let down. The spouts can thus be set going or stopped in an instant. These spouts and the water trough might, no doubt, be better constructed with iron. If of wood, the cases must be strengthened outside by a frame made of stout qxiartering, screwed together with iron bolts and nuts, as the pressure of the water is very great. " The action of the ,high- pressure spout has surpassed my most sanguine expectations. Nothing can be more beautiful or effective. The fleece, already washed by the battery, when struck by it, instantly assximes a dazzling whiteness, which presents a most striking contrast to the side which has not yet been subjected to its operation."