WOOL WASHING.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 821, 12 September 1870, Page 5

WOOL WASHING.

[Written for Auckland Weekly News, Sept. 3.J Since the price of wool has risen to something like a remunerative figure, growers should endeavour to get it up in a more marketable condition than that which has hitherto been sent home from this province ; and, as the shearing season is approaching, perhaps a few remarks on wool-washing will not ! be out of place. With regard to the ;uew style of sheep-washing with hot water,"about which such a great deal of discussion has taken place (for that which has been indiscriminately condemned by some, has been strenuously upheld by others, who refer objectors to their agents' returns, &c), there cannot be the slightest doubt that in this, as in most discussions where sensible reasoning is disregarded, mistakes have arisen. But to con-

demn a process which some of the most successful sheep owners use, and by which some of the most famous clips of Victoria and New South Wales are got up, and which netted from two shillings to two shillings and ninepence per pound, appears to be, and is, quite ridiculous. Now, I have known growers to wash sheep in hot water ranging from 80° to 140°; and whilst some used a glass to ascertain the temperature, others used none. And, again, some used soap (both hard and soft), soda crystals, and caustic soda, without any regard to quantity. The consequence is that, with all these different temperatures and alkalies, serious blunders, attended with some loss, have arisen; and objectors do not forget to point out those losses, &c.,' as condemnatory to the whole system. I myself have tried most systems, and have arrived at the conclusion that hot-water-washing and spouting is the most effective method of getting up wool iu a really good marketable condition. Many people imagine that it is necessary to remove all tue yolk out of the wool, but this is a very serious mistake ; for, although the manufacturers remove' it themselves, yet they would much rather buy it with the yolk in it; and, what is of more importance, they will give a ihigher price for wool which has a certain quantity of yolk in is than for that which has none. And besides that the grower gains additional weight in the yolk, it also helps to preserve the wool during the voyage home. (Another important object is to get your wool properly sorted, which ii well done will prove highly remunerative. Growers seem to strangely neglect this.) Therefore the point to be attained is to wash wool without removing too much of the yolk ; acd to do this, when good soft water is to be got, neither soap aor soda is re«|

quired, because the yolk itself is a strong alkali, as it mostly consists of potash and therefore forms a capital lye ; and if the hot-water soakingtank is properly made, the alkali lye above mentioned can be daily preserved fresh, and free from all impurities. The proper temperature, and that generally approved of by the most experienced sheep mauagers in the Australian colonies, ranges from 100° to 108°, and if it exceeds 115° you can depend upon it seriously injuring the wool. An error to be avoided, and one that many seem to have fallen into, is showering the sheep before putting them into the hot-water soak, fancying that showering softens the tips of the wool. But this a mistake. Showering does not soften the tip, but seriously affects the wool by taking away that bright and glossy appearance which all really well - washed wool should possess. Wool free from tip requires no moistening before the hot-water soak, but the soak will with time and patience remove the stiffest tip. And now for the spouting, upon which a great deal depends. Great care should be taken that the spout of water is not heavy enough to injure the spine of the sheep. The thickness of the spout of water should not exceed one fifth of an inch, and the pressure ought not to be more than eight or ten feet: the abovementioned pressure and thickness cannot injure either the sheep or the wool. After the removal of the sheep from the spout, each of them should be landed in a long uarrow battened yard or lane, and left there till ihey are well dripped. The above method, with a very little alteration, is applicable to skin wool, which (if the skins are from fresh-slaughtered sheep) ought, if properly sorted, to be got up in almost as good condition as fleece wool.