REVOLUTION IN WOOL SCOURING. Potter's Patent Machine.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1720, 14 July 1883, Page 2

RE VOL UTION IN WOOL SCOURING. Potter's Patent Machine.

On Wednesday last a number of gentleman assembled at the Daily Buildings, Surrey Hills Kst-ito, Auckland, to witness a trial of Potter's pitenfc wool scouring machine, the patient lights of whirh have been acquired by a joint stock company lecently formed, from the patentee, Mr Albert Pot'er (formerly of Hamilton) and Mr >S. T. iSeddon and Captain •Steele for ■ joining wool in the fleece. Mr Seddon (one ot the diicctois of the company) and Mr Steele were the only representative of the Waikato present. The following account ot the trial is from Thursday's «V<"'f Zjk'Uiikl 7^("W,:-Mr "Potter the inventor of the process, has been a woobtaplerof extensive experience in England, He turned his attention some time back to thoconstructionof machinery for cleaning flax, aud latterly, to devising a machine for scouring wool, Tho machinery With which yesterday's experiments were conducted, Ls in small compass, simple of construction, and consisted —first, of a steam-engine of 4 horse power, tn Work the stain pets under which the wool passes in a set ies ot watertight boxes 01 trollies. There are two tiuks, one holding tho hot w ater and lye (soap and soil.i), and the other cold water, for supplying the: boxes in \\ Inch the fleeces are placed. Fitst the boxes, which aie mounted on wheels, are run uu to the tanks in succession on the tra\tl ing railway, chaiged \\ ifcli hot lye and c >ld water, till the lequi-site temperatuie has been attained, when tho fluecea aie placed in them. They are then run along tho rails till they come under the stampers, which are 4()lbs. weiuht oach, and twelve in number. They aie in two sections, the motion in each section being leveised, soa* tojthoioughly equalise theprcssuicover the whole fleece. The stamping process lasts about a quarter of a minute. The wool is then carried on to a pair of metal rolleis, wheie is is squeeze I and wiung out, and from thence it passes on a travelling rack back again to the hand of the dipper, who repeats the process a second time. On reaching his hand on the last occasion, it is placed in ba&kcts,' and carried to the drying racks, where it is spread out and dried. The boxes have plugs for running out the waste water. l<*ivM boxes running like an endless belt aie autfioient to keep the machines going, the whole labour required huinir one man and four boy*}. Yesterday 32211>s of wool were put through in an hour and a halt. The machinery can be easily constructed, and at a niodeiate figure. Home of the scouring michinos in the .South have cost thousand* of pounds, and simply tear the wool to pieces. By PotterY process the fleece is kept intact, if desired, and the wool is uninjured. Mr MeOea, ot Mailborough, was so pleased with the experiments and tests that he informed the directors he would send up at first shearing from his station 10 bales of wool to be put through the machine, to practically test for himself the whole question, as he had to discontinue hand woolsconring through the high price of labour. We were shown some samples of wool sent from Napier. Cauteibury, and Waikato which had been subject to Potter's process, and turned out in excellent condition, free from grease or yolk ; also, some samples of dyed wool — dyed only the previous day —and which showed that the wool after the scouring piocess by Potter's machine is quite ready for the purposes of the English manufacturers. Some of the dyes were of a very delicate tmt. If wool can be sent home in this condition, the manufacturers can deal with the sheepbreeder and woolgrower direct, thus saving the middle man's profits, the cost of rescouring the wool iv England, 'and a large percentage of freight. The importance of this to the colonial woolgrower will be seen at a glance. A penny or twopence a pound even saved on the wool shipped home would foot up to something handsome in the year. A large proportion of, the wool sent from New Zealand is exported in the greasy or unwashed state, and being compacted in this condition very much depreciates its value. The loss in scouring wool so packed often exceeds 60 per cent.' Woo' Which' is scoured by* the ordinary process before packing.is usually clone so imperfectly that, before the manufacturer can :rtse"Ut,it requires to be re-scoured,- and loses from. 20 to 30 per cent. Wool scoured by Potter's" machine, does not, as already stated, require to be scoured a second time on arrival in England, but is at once fitted for the'manufacturer, the loss on coarse cross-bredsgauges from 25 to 36 per cent., and on clothing merinos, 52 per. cent. The peculiar and great advantage of this invention is that the machine can, at small expense, be, placed each sheep station, so that the stafabn'masteVs can scour their own* wools before packing, and at Jess expense, aud with better results than by the usual process. 1 We' 'machine '■■is v patented*; in. New Zealand, ancl-it.is,proposed,to,obtain patents forthwith for - 'the' ■ feeveital Australian colonies. It looks Very much as if the 'flays*-'Mii^wool-scouringifby,' hand 'were numbered,., in - the • face of steam and .miaqjmvery/j iau&th> ius<?, o| sPotter?a. 5 Potter?a. pr<|-

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