TRIAL OP WOLSELEY'S SHEEP SHEARING MACHINE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1752, 28 January 1888, Page 3

TRIAL OP WOLSELEY'S SHEEP SHEARING MACHINE.

The correspondent of the "Otago Daily /Times," at Alexandra Sooth, sends the following to that journal under date, January 24th : — " from time to time reports of the suo.cessful working of the Wolse'ey'B sheepshearing machines have appeared m the Australian newspapers, and when it wbh announoed'tbat a trial of them would take place on the Galloway station considerable curiosity was maoifested. The general feeling was almost one of incredulity, and numbers of runholders, farmers, and others have visited the abed for the purpose of seeing the machine at work and 3-jdginp for tfcemselves. On Monday, 23rd inst., the weather, which has beaa rather unsettled of late, cleared up, and a number of gentlemen more or less interested m wool-growing, visited the wool shed, which is situated m Little Valley, about six miles front Alexandra t>y the horse track. Shearing at the time was m full Bwiog, and visitors were thus Afforded anusual facilities for comparing the two methods of hand and machine ■heaiiog. Through the courtesy of Mr Ganion, the manager of the station, and Mr F. 'Williams, the agent for the maohines, every opportunity was afforded to see the machines at work and to form an opinion on their merits. The machines •re m size and shape not unlike a patent horse clipper with one handle, which is hollow, and through the centre of which is a rod working the cutter, the horizontal motion being obtained by means of an eccentric enclosed m the instrument. The motion' w obtained from the drivipg gear by means of ? flexible core of catgQt about balf-an-inch. m diameter attached to tho shaft of a small friction wheel, which can be thrown m or out of gear at the pleasure of the operator. Tho other end of the catgut core is attached to the instrument, and by its flexibility and a universal joint ingeniously constructed m the end of the handle, enables it to be moved m any direction with the greatest ease. All the workiog parts of the machine are covered, with the exception of the comb and cutter. The machines; of which there are two fit fed up, were driven by a email engine, the motive power required being about two borsa power to drive 20 machines. After inspecting the machines, a number of sheep were shorn, the operator holding the sheep m the ordinary way ; and the facility with which, the instrument was turned m any direction required fairly surprised the spectators —m fact the operator could handle the instrument with far greater ease than a hand shearer could handle his shears. The time occupied m •bearing each sheep was slightly under 5 minutes, but what struck the onlookers most was the extraordinary smoothness with which the machine did its work. The sheep shorn by hand alongside of them. appeared all ridges and furrows m cornparieon. One gentleman remarked that if bis most intimate friend had informed him that such work could be done by a machine he would have felt sceptical until be had eeen it with hin own eyes. After several sheep had been shorn, a sheep which had been previously shorn by hand, and which was considered to have boon well done, was operated on, the result being a fraotion under Boz of wool Tho trial was Considered eminently satisfactory by all those present, one gentleman of many, years' experience stating that m his opinion a station carrying 60,000 sheep shorn pyth'e" maphlne would not only bo reooupo tfio entire putlay for the plant the first year but would have a snffijlent surplus to pay for the cost of shearing for two or three years af erwards. When the cheep were turned on f , the most inexperienced eye oould detect the differeno at a glanc \ toe machine-thorn sheep having a smooth even ooa% resembling a piece of frieze cloth, while the hand-shorn ones, although they were considered to be well done, had a decidedly ragged appearance alongside of them. It is not claimed for tho machine that it will shear at any great Increase of speed, probably not quicker than an ordinary fast shearer, but that it outs the wool close and more evenly, which would give amore regular length of staple In the following years growth. The machine also does away with second cust. which' not only deteriorate the quality of the wool, but ciuae a great deal of waste. They can be* worked by any man of ordinary Intelligence acous'omed to handle sheep— !n fact one of the gentlemen present, who saw the machine for the first tll&e, tried his hand 'on a sheep, and made' very fair work atthe'first attempt. The invention ought* to be particularly applicable to toe 1 »rge number of runs which poieees sufficient water power to drive the machine. Even the farmer with a few "hundred sheep oould effect a ponslderable savlag by attaching one or two machine* to the horse-power of his ohaffsutter, as he could then do all his Shearing by himself and family. It is Intended to have a public trial of the maebine at the stores of the New J3 saland Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Donedio, about Feb. 2nd, and it would be well worth the while of those interested In woolgrowlog to Inspect them at work and judge for themselves.