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F. BABKAS.

112. You heard Mr. Miles say that in his opinion wool will not burn? —I have never seen it burn. 113. Would you not consider that was merely a matter of temperature?—l should expect it to be very 7 largely a matter of temperature and air. 114. That is, supposing that the temperature of wool by the natural process of heating reached a certain point, it would turn into flame?—The chemical constituents of greasy wool are inflammable substances, but whether there is some physical condition which retards it I do not know. I do not know whether an}- one has tested it. There is a rough-and-ready way of testing it by putting a lighted candle into a bale of wool, and it will not burn it. 115. But you cannot go on the assumpton that the wool will not burn?—You cannot go on the assumption at all. 116. Do you consider it would take very long to make a series of experiments to determine what we want to get at? —You cannot begin till you have the normal clip available. The wool you would get at the present time is winter clippings—clipped crutchings. That is quite different in character from the ordinary fleeces; it is shorn in the winter, when possibly the bacteria proper to wool is not there, because bacteria we know are always more active in the damper period, or just in the spring, and I think if you had any oddments —that is, wool that had been kicking about for months—that these experiments would be valueless to you. 1 have never known of crutchings being damaged. The reports are chiefly for scoured wools, sheep-skins, slipes occasionally, and the ordinary reports simply cover ordinary fleece wools. 117. From what you know of the dips in use, would you consider that the use of the dips in the ordinary dipping-times would have any dangerous effect on the wool?—None whatever. I think it is scientifically impossible. The dips consist of three things—carbolic acid, arsenic, with carbonate (or caustic) of soda, and glycerine. 118. There is glycerine? —Yes, and that is used in dipping. It is far more soluble than arsenite of soda, and I think you would not find a trace of it when you examined it. 119. The question was raised in regard to the process of sliping—the chemicals used —as to the likelihood of any after-effect. Of course, you know that in the process of sliping the edges of the skins get coated with chemicals?—They use sulphide of sodium, but pick off the edgings to make the lower sorts, such as No. 3 or No. 4. 120. Do you think any of the lime could possibly remain unslaked?—No; but some of that sulphide could remain unoxidized. 121. And the effect would be, what? —To raise the temperature if not absolutely dry. 122. Would moist air have that effect upon it?—The moist air helps it to oxidize undoubtedly. The basis, of course, is sulphide of calcium, and the tendency of moist air is to promote oxidation, and if that was rapid enough the temperature would be raised ; but if slow the rise in temperature would be hardly appreciable. 123. And moisture would bring that about? —Yes; but if it is dry it does not occur at all. 124. Do you know the process in regard to the preparation of this mixture?—Yes. 125. It is mixed in one tub and il is then thoroughly stirred and nut in another, so that there is a sediment in the first tub. Would not that be through the thorough saturation of the chemical? —The chemical when it is painted on the skin is for all practical purposes a sulphide of lime, which is a non-oxidized form of a compound. All these sulphides have a tendency to absorb oxygen—that is combustion, but it is so slow under ordinary circumstances that the rise in temperature requires the very finest observation to notice it. Whether there is enough unoxidized soda-sulphide left in the No. 3 and No. 4 slipe wool I think is one of those experiments which will have to be tried, and it is well worth trying. 126. But when dry it would require damp to start it off?—Yes. There is practically no chemical action worth mentioning if it is well dried. 127. Then would you imagine that the presence of such a small amount as you would understand would be in the skins or fellmongered wool could possibly cause any fire?—l do not think it'would be of sufficient quantity; but I think Mr. Miles gave you the cue when he said, "Don't ship damp wool." The whole story lies there. The question is how much moisture is dangerous and how much is not. 128. Would you corroborate all that Mr. Miles has said?—My experience has been practically the same as his. 129. Captain Blackburne] The difficulty is to find out whether it is damp or wet?—That is the difficulty. We find the same difficulty in the wool-sales. A bale may look perfect in the pack— you never know whether it is slightly damp or wet until you have examined it. There, I think, is really the difficult problem you have to face. As you know, when you have to ship as we have here, working from 4 o'clock in the morning with all the gangs of men we can get on the place, there is no possibility of getting it all examined ; there is such a rush that it is almost impossible. The only way is for every bale to be examined inside—open the bale of wool. You cannot tell from the outside whether you have damp fleeces inside, and in order to do that you would open an enormous question. When a bale is wet on the railway-truck, or has been wet in the surf-boat, it is palpable to the eye ; there is no difficulty, the bales are put aside to give them a chance to dry. The danger is in the perfectly well-ordered bales which are wet inside sufficiently to be dangerous. 130. Mr. Foster] Supposing means were found of inserting something down a tube into the centre of a bale--is there any method which would detect moisture?—No sure way; but the method of inserting a fine thermometer would certainly be of great value in examinations, because if the wool is sufficiently damp to be dangerous, by the time it has come down to the Harbour Board's shed it must have been baled for three or four days or a week or two, and the temperature would have risen perceptibly, and you could have one of those probers, with a fine registering thermometer, which you could insert into any portion of the bale you like before dumping.

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