CORRESPONDENCE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10859, 31 December 1906, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

FIRES IN WOOL AND FLAX

(To the Editor of the Herald.)

;; ; SUWRe your report m last Saturday's edition of the meeting of the Wool Eirefi Gbinmission at WelHngtbn on Thursday, •I notice that they, recommend an instrument for tasting. the temperature of bales -of wool or flax. I have experimented for the -last six months with different 'shaped instruments, including the. one the Commissioners recommend, an,d I nave proved, that a Jin sp6ar-pqinted tube,' as commended, was forced with great difficulty into an undumped bale, while a dumped' bale was out orthe question* I therefore altered the sha je to a thrte-cuttihg-edged bayonet, which. l find will -enter an un* , dumped or dumped bale, co I cannot ■understand the Oommissionera eonuueijding the tube tester they describe, which T . proved cannot lie easily inserted into bales, of wool. Regarding the cause of fires m wool, I might "point out that m Australia there is less danger, because of the great aversion of Australian shearers to handle wet sheop, In this country the shearingis largely done 1 by Maoris, who have not th 6. same objection as the Australians, consequently many bales are packed with, comparatively wet wool. The matter de-" pends largely' oil the conscientiousness or : otherwise of sheepfarmers, for, after -8 ; day's rain the, temptation to proceed un-jg mediately -Cvitli tho shearing, owing to^ roueeabouts I 'wages and other expenses Jl mounting up. is very great, and-often^. too much for those, not troubled with anysy scruples. In New Zealand the climate- -1 is a humid one, and \\> IB well known how I moisture is attracted to wool. Inking . wool the firstHhing to obtain is the jrorY mal temperature, which I have? proved *O <--.' be about 75^ &e Ri •' Pa»r- «& rf ■ goes up another ten 4egreeß wifnin a a short period of time it can be marked dangerous, and not d £^^ c - Lowe street, Gisborne.

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