WOOL DUMPING.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2425, 24 December 1880, Page 3

WOOL DUMPING.

♦ To-day we paid a visit to tlie storage warehouses ot : the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, of .which Mr F. Le Crcn is the local manager, fronting on the beach opposite the Tiinani Landing and Shipping Company’s wharf, for the purpose of ascertaining the method there employed in the dumping of wool. This has always been found necessary by shippers on acconnt.of the actual saving on freightage, and also that they can be more conveniently stowed away in the holds of home vessels. The actual machinery employed for the purpose is similar to that used in former seasons, but as there have been a fewgadditions made thereto prior to the presiftt season, we append a few particulars relating to the same. On entering the first door loading into the building, wc find a small space partitioned oft' on the right hand side, in which a six-horse portable machine is located, which is attached to the pumps in another part of the buildings by the driving gear. There arc three pumps in all, one large and two smaller ones, which supply the hydraulic pressure to two presses a short distance apart from each other. The pumps are driven off one shaft, by two disc cranks, and can be driven separately or all together. When the presses are up a a certaiu height, the largo pump is thrown oft by opening a valve, and the bales are finally compressed as required by the aid of two smaller on s Owing to the rain vsal 01 the presses being smaller than in the Lyttelton and Dunedin press is. the pressure on fie pumps has to be about three tons to the inch to reduce the bales down to the same size. The pumps erected here arc not to be beaten for their work, even where more expensive machinery is erected in other port towns. They have recently been re-arranged and considerably simplified by the Company’s local engineer. We understand that it takes about a minute and a half from the time two bales are placed in the press, compressed together and properly banded by hoop iron. There arc but throe men employed in the whole undertaking and for an ordinary day’s work arc enabled to turn out from fifty to sixty double bales, and when a long day’s work is gone through they have given a good account of the same by turning out nearly 100 double bales.