SHEEP-SHEARING BY MACHINERY.

Southland Times, Issue 1263, 10 June 1870, Page 3

SHEEP-SHEARING BY MACHINERY.

(From the 8. A. "Register!) An ' American citizen, ~Mr D. O. Macornber, has -produced a sheep-shear-ing machine guaranteed to be an effective substitutefor the professional shearer. The discoverer, in a letter dated Paris December, 18619,. acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr GK A. Anstey for fust suggesting the principle of the invention, so that South Australia has a special interest in its success. Although many attempts have been made to supersede hand clipping, the shearing hitherto has triumphed over mechanical ingenuity. Different apparatus have been from time to time tried, and have come very near the accomplishment of the end in view, but they have always proved^ defective in some point which was fatal to their general adoptions. _ To judge by the testimonials and statements to hand, all obstacles have been overcome in connection with this new and simple machine,

which " hia^iefeeivM cfiame of the American Patent BheepshesrOT7""lt is estimated that it will make 6000 cuts per minute, and perform .its .-jwork with aa much accuracy and- completeness m rapidity^ It was at the Paris of 1857 that Mr Anstey first called attention to the subject,; and Mr Macornber was not slow in following up the hint, given. Within a very short time he had completed his model arid' taK&iP out a patent in the TTnite.d States. * What further steps he has taken ma^ beat be gathered . frqm a - 3 letter 7{ pjf,,* o^ei 7th December last, already alluded to. He says: — "I have not been unmindful of the bints you gave me in. y our letter of 10th August, and as far as possible I have endeavored to follow your, advice. o J have entered into a contract with Messrs Ghvynne and C0.," Essex-street iWorka, Strand, London, to manufacture, the machine for England, Außifclia^Heir Zealand, and the Gape, and they have now one specimen to exhibit and operate with, all. the patents having been secured. I very much wishyoujtojiee the machine, and test its'ability 16 meet" a want ~ which has, so long^l»een_felt...thrifflghiiut the world. Already many Australians have seen it here, aod^having L tried it tgr actually shearing wool with-it,-have unanimously approved of it: ; X liave bargained with a gentleman largely engaged in agricultural implement-making ; here to manufacture them 'for -Frajdjj^* and although many have been already' sold, only three or four .have yet been -finished. The sale of the machine and its introduction into Australia I have committed entirely- to Messrs #wynne and Co. We have had a rather Trough dra^ing.made of the machine and Uthograp^ed,' and I send you a copy. , ,_ rffiM r you*, jta, '. t good enough .to let me know your opinidnabout it, and especially if you know how many sheepshearers are_probably necessary to shear all the sheep in Austr^ajby the present method, and? whatr are £ae,iragea paid per day, including boards 'al»df how long the i season lasts ?" Accompanying this" letter "is " axTintimation from "" Mr Anstey," that: he has sinteTTße^ the machine in action, and that-Mf Schwartze, the well-known wool-bniker,; has obtained a professional opinion upon it." ; This recommends the nejv invention* as /being simple, and ingenious, : but questions whether in its present form the app^atus will, supersede the shears foir 1 ; Australian sheep. There is also given a tes^onial from Mr Henry Boynton, described as one of the largest wool-grower^ in the United States. / Iii x it ' the following passages occur;:^*^ doubting that sheep ,. can be ; wjeU and rapidly shorn, by machinery, and your invention must take its place among the great labor-saving contrivances ofjthe age. I tried it upon our heavy -fleeced Vermont merinos, the most difficult steep to shear of any in the world. The machine" was put into the hands of mehJ wholly unused to it, and yet, after a little clipping round the neck' and legs of -the sheep, the fleeces were taken off in five to eight minutes. I think I ;h'azard nothing in pre^wting ;thiat/in hands i J the machine will shear a sheep in'th'ree minutes. With oneTnan to catch and prepare~the sheep, and one operate )tiie! machine, I confidently expect- to— see it take off 150 fleecenra'jdayj, Among!ithe3ighter-fleeced sheep of the West ;-3?exas,'South America, and Australia it will do more. - [ Themheep leaves the machine with fewer fcuts -than generally result from \fheaxi)o and the wool can becut down to any desired degree of closenessandsmoothnesß.^ Without placing too much, reliance upon this statement as coming from a Yankqe, and propagated by those having .a. . pecuniary interest in the . machine, there is enough in it to create an interest in the discovery, and a curioaityto see it tried in Australia under the auspice's of practical ; men. It is - impoasibl^ to describe the apparatus from the [lithograph representation of : it, and no explanation of its character and /mode of -workjrig is i furnished. Wiith regard W> ""■ %W { "jqueries at the end of Mr^^ Mac^rnbOT^lettf j^ the gentleman who has been kind enough to supply us with the documents from which we have quoted, estim^teiJhatfeerejfere in Australia and New Zealan^^about forty-five^millions, of sheep. V The cost of shearing per 100 may be set down at 20s to 225, including"l6s for wages, and from [7sto 8s for rations: > 'experienced ! shearer can in the season -"of--;;stt j manipulate about 1500 shwp,' so { tb;a)| the aggregate of men jequiredinay^ ; .bji? set downat 30,000. Wehave no means at hand of knowing the number of sheep "runs in the colonies, but it is believed that^ the machines;, if universally Jin|rb4^ce4i and each worked by a man and, a boy, or by two men, would empldjr l n6a^ly as large a nmn|»r of haa^, )«,., |ffi ..^o? engaged during the shearing season.;; Of course if the astonishingly rapid rate of a sheep in every three minutes should be achieved, the work; wifl^ jgot tbjoii|h in much less time than at presaut.;!: .The great advantage of the apparatus to the sheepfarmer will consist in its capability to supersede skilled labour. Thiiiwill be a very great desideratum, for thedeioiand for thoroughly efiicient': workman in^this branch of the business frequently, exceeds the supply, .The,;maciafiei j^ v 4ti, I |'»lfils expectations, will give permanent'deliverance from this unfortunate^tatETof "things, and, in the long run, the.shearers will not suffer through having so formidable a competitor introduced upon the run. We 'shall give our pastoral readers the L benefit of any further information; that may be communicated to usjupon this interesting subject. ; ._ ■■■; :,;•;; .?.: ; :_ ! .7O::' :::i \ ~