ALL BUT THE "BLEAT."

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1561, 3 October 1912, Page 10

ALL BUT THE "BLEAT."

SHEEP PRODUCTS-CORNERING WASTE. AVliat (o-day is a waste product, or next door to it, may tu-monw be a commercialised comiiKnlity yielding; millions lu tlia lucky gcniii.-. who exploits its ties. American cointiiurcial entorpri.-e, for example, has reduced Jhe exploitation ol (ho pig to such a line point nowadays that when all is over and done with, tiiere remains but the tqueak. Anion;,' .sheep men it has been a matter of regret that the same could not be done with the sheep, for up t.-i Uo present time, despite the introduction of various device s a Rood deal more of the sheep goes lo vrasto in various directions besides ilie "bleat." Sheep that have been pastured in country uiiested by the "biiidy-Wd," pick up the seeds m their wool, and the selling value ot the wool depreciates accordingly. This wool, minus the "biddy-bid," may be worth so much, but with the "biddybid thickly adlrering to the fine wool it is worth a great deal less. The question is: How to rid the wool of the "hiddybul •> Tho Onyx Wool Process supplies the answer to that, and other pressing} questions affecting wool waste. Every farthing counts, in the wool business, and a machine which .has been designed to slop.the leakage of the millions of farthings which might be saved from tho wool waste is a proposition which the wool-grower is willing to examine. In .Bourke's Buildings yesterday affeinoon, where Mr. Ci H. Moss, sole New Zealand agent for the "Onyx Wool .Process," has established his headquarters, a representative of The Dominion was accorded an opportunity of witnessing the reclamation of marketable wool from what in ordinary circumstances would be cither waste or next door to it. Jlr. A Jarnian, chief fellmonger at the Wellington Meat Export Company, was present as an interested spectator—the disposal of "slipes" to the best advantage is .< problem which the big meat companies are continually pondering over. Sir. Moss pointed to a heap of "biddy-bid" wool— a really bad lot—and remarked that with the "biddy-bid" out of that lot the stuff would probably rank just under 'medium, fetching, on current rates, anything from "Id. to ti.Ul., or even 9d. Then he pointed to the Onyx, a big boxed-in whirlwind, it sounded like, and the reporter had to be satisfied with that as an iinpiesshii for the principle of the invention is n secret—and instructed the attendant to treat the "biddy-bid" wool. A heap was tossed in, the power applied, hikl the hum of, an imprisoned cyclone sounded within the niacliinc. Presently, from thr air-drauglitexpulsion pipes, the wool, now completely/cleaned of the "biddy-bV.," came flying out on to the floor, and ivis gathered up, examined, and favourably commented upon by the experts. The next and most striking experiment was with a heap of unpromising-looking "diggings"—sheer waste—as things go at present. But after a few brief seconds in the cyclone box of the Onyx, they came out with a jnarkef value. "There is absolutely no wast? at all now --except the bleat," said '.Mr. Moss, after tVj demonstration. "Tho Chinamen will give. .£1 a ton for the 'biddy-bid/ which they esteem highly as a warm top-dressing for their garden-plots, while' from the 'daggings' wo get a fertiliser containing 53.5G points of nitrogenised organic matter. The Onyx wool process is entirely mechanical. It in no way injures the staple of the wool, and it removes all foreign bodies from wool, and also successfully treats "lime cowhair, , which is often entirely wasted in this country, as are the 'daggings.' Another and' essential point to the wool-grower: The Onyx treatment reduces the. weight of the. shipment. YiHiere now a man pays freight on 'biddybiil' wool, or dirty slipes sent Home, he pays not only for . tlio wool, but for the dirt and extraneous matter. Wool is often sent Home with JO pe'r cent of dirty stuff in it—sand, wool, chaff, trigs, etc. Plus that, tho colour and general appearance of the wool are preserved, valuable lime is saved lo the manufacturer, and waste wools are made a good marketable commodity.. The Onyx process wiuld bo invaluable to woolscourers, freezing works, tanneries—the 'biddy-bid' seed possesses- tannin? properties of a very high value—and fell-mong-ers. I ini*ht say that, a large Onyx mill in London is at pre.-snt simply coining money by ..treatinir New- Zealand slipo wool for 'biddy-bids.' " : ■ . Mr. Moss added that the Onyx machine was not intended to be sold. The idea was to establish' it in centres' where there would be plenty of work for it to do, ond treat, wool sent in for cleaning, charging a commission. Sheep-fanners could bring along their wool to the Onyx mill as dairy farmers brought their mill; to the factory, and it would pay them handsomely. Mr. Jarinan was asked by (he reporter what he thouprht of tho machine. Mr. Jnrinan replied that lie was quite satisfied with the test and its results.