THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1910. FIRES IN WOOLSHIPS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9687, 11 January 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1910. FIRES IN WOOLSHIPS.

The investigations of Professor Park, of Dunedin, into the causes and prevention of fires in wool' Ships are the more interesting and valuable be--1 cause they combine scientific research from the theoretical point of view with a very practical form of enquiry. Professor Park has followed wool from the sheep's back to the dumpingrpress. He had in three years handled, or seen handled, 25,000 sheep, watched the carrying of bales to the port, and "carefully scrutinised dumping operations in three of the centres. His conclusion is that combustion is made possible in the dumping process, heat being generated in compressing the air entangled in the wook Of course it has long been thought that the pressure of the dumping-press led to spontaneous combustion by raising the temperature of wool when damp or greasy. Professor Park, however, acquits damp and greasy wool of any complicity, and puts the trouble down to compressed air. He mentions that his theory had the support of the late Sir James Hector, and is also endorsed by Professor Lewes, of Greenwich, and Dr. von Schwartz, of Hamburg. Practically, however, it is a new theory. The Royal Commission that investigated the subject a few years ago did not mention it in their report. They came to the conclusion that spontaneous combustion did take place in wool, and that an excess of moisture in wool over natural conditions was dangerous. But they thought it unlikely that fires had been caused by the shearing of wet sheep, and they found that the ! Railway Department and those responsible for the handling of wool on the wharves exercised great care, and they were not shown any case in which a fire had been caused by neglect in these respects. So far i as fleece'wool is concerned, therefore, the Commission left us very much in the dark as to the causes of its spontaneous combustion. If Professor Park's investigations have solved the secret, he will have done, his country . a great service. His remedy is dumping in a vacuum, and it will be interesting to be told what additional expense this will invojve. Exhaus-

tive tests of the system proposed should be made without delay, and if they are successful, and the cost is not prohibitive, it will then be a matter for serious consideration whether the process of vacuum dumping in the case of wool and fibre intended for shipment should not be made compulsory.