Shearing station

“ The shearing season on the plains is much like the threshing season in agricultural communities. With a crew of first-class shearers working in a shearing shed, it is not long until the floor is a sea of wool. Boys are kept busy picking up the fleeces, tying them into compact bundles, and throwing them to the men who have been assigned to the task of filling the wool sacks. ”

“ The buckets which do the digging and raising of the earth may be supported on a wheel as in Fig. 89 or on an endless chain as in Fig. 90. The support of the wheel or endless chain can be raised or lowered at the will of the operator so as to keep the trench as close to grade as can be done by hand work. In some machines the shape of the buckets can be made such as to cut the bottom of the trench, in suitable material, to the shape of the sewer invert. In operation, the buckets are at the rear of the machine and revolve so that at the lowest point in their path they are traveling forward. ”

“ The lambing and shearing seasons are the two busiest and most anxious seasons for the sheep raiser. A good lambing season will almost [62] double the flock, so prolific do they become. Sheep shearing used to be done almost entirely by hand, but nearly all the big ranches now have sheep-shearing machines driven by steam or gasoline power. ”

“ The sizes of sheeting and timbering should be computed on the same basis as that for trench sheeting except that for depths greater than 30 to 35 feet Rankine’s Theory is not applicable and judgment must be relied on for computing the sizes for deep shafts. In stiff dry material the pressures will change very little as the depth increases. Sheeting is needed in shaft excavation in rock only to protect the workmen from falling fragments, but in sand, particularly in quicksand and in wet ground, the pressures increase directly with the depth and the sheeting should be computed accordingly. ”

“ Steam Shovels.—The use of steam shovels for the excavation of sewer trenches is becoming more prevalent because of their growing dependability and durability as compared with other machines, their adaptability for small trenches, and the relatively large number of widely different uses to which they can be put. In excavating a trench the shovel straddles the trench and runs on tractors, wheels, or rollers on either side of it. The shovel cuts the trench ahead of it. As a result it is difficult to set sheeting and bracing close to the end of the trench while the shovel is operating. ”

“ House and Barns Supplied from a Reservoir.—A farm reservoir may sometimes be built very cheaply by throwing a dam across a narrow hollow between two hills, or ridges. On other farms, it is necessary to scrape out a hole on the highest ground within reach. For easy irrigation a reservoir is necessary, and it is economical because the pump may work overtime and [121] supply enough water so the irrigation may be done quickly and with sufficient water to make it effective. ”

“ On the other hand, the location of a station directly across the bed of a river in this way makes it impossible to protect the machinery if the up-stream wall, which acts as the dam, should ever give way. The peculiar natural conditions favorable to the construction just considered are seldom found. ”

“ The shearers continue to work at the same express-train pace; fifty bales of wool roll every day from the wool-presses; as fast as they reach that number they are loaded upon the numerous drays and wagons which have been waiting for weeks. Tall brown men have been recklessly cutting up hides for the last fortnight, wherewith to lash the bales securely. It is considered safer practice to load wool as soon as may be; fifty bales represent about a thousand pounds sterling. In a building, however secure, should a fire break out, a few hundred bales are easily burned ”

“ Shearers earn great wages; a good man will do from 100 to 200 per day, though the latter number is of course exceptional. The introduction of shearing machines has helped to increase the shearer's daily tally. A host of other men are employed in the shed. Boys gather the fleeces which they throw on a table where they are skirted, the trimmings being divided into "locks and pieces" and "bellies," and the rolled fleece is thrown on another long table at which the wool-classer presides. ”

“ Fortunately, stations are seldom placed in deep cuttings or upon high embankments; but frequently when a station is opened, houses will be erected around it, thus causing any movement of the ground to be of serious moment and dangerous. ”

“ On unpaved streets the backfill is crowned over the trench to a depth of about 6 inches and then rolled smooth by a road roller. In open fields, in side ditches, or in locations where obstruction to traffic or unsightliness need not be considered, after the first 2 feet of backfill have been placed with proper care, the remainder is scraped or thrown into the trench by hand or machine, care being taken not to drop the material so far as to disturb the sewer. ”

“ I remembered that only a few days previously my attention had been attracted to a subterranean sewer for the waters of the street gutters which, near the Steinmauerner gate, led from the interior of the city, under the fortifications, into an open field outside. This sewer was probably a part of an uncompleted drainage system. The entrance to it in the interior of the city was situated in a trench near a garden hedge. Outside it emptied into a ditch overgrown with shrubbery, which bordered a corn field. ”

“ Continuous bucket machines, drag lines, and occasionally steam shovels are not adapted to conditions where rocks, pipes and other underground obstacles are frequently met.
The following problem is an example of the work necessary in making a comparison of the relative economy of machine and hand excavation:
It is assumed that a man can excavate 15 feet of trench 30 inches wide and 8 feet deep in 10 hours. He receives 55 cents per hour for his work. A machine costing $10,000 has a life of 6 years. ”

“ The inspector should assist or be present at the laying out of the trench. After the trench has been laid out each laborer should be given a certain specific portion of it to dig and this portion is marked out on the ground. In this way a check can be kept upon the performance of each laborer and the knowledge of this fact tends to a uniformly better performance. The amount of work that can be performed by one man with a pick and shovel is as shown in Table 49. Some men may exceed these rates, many will not attain them. ”

“ It can be kept busy 150 days in the year. When operating it costs $1.25 per hour for the operator, fuel and repairs. It will excavate 800 linear feet of 30 inch trench to a depth of 8 feet in 10 hours. It is assumed that capital is worth 10 per cent on such a venture and that the sinking fund will draw 10 per cent. If the cost of moving and setting up the machine is $1,800, how many cubic yards of excavation must there be to make excavation by machine economical? Costs of sheeting, pumping, etc., are assumed to be the same for machine or hand work. ”

“ The method of supporting the shovel can be seen in the picture under the machine and the method of bracing and of finishing the trench by hand work are also shown. The excavated material is taken out in the shovel and dropped on the bank or into wagons.
The limiting depth to which trenches can be excavated by steam shovels is about 20 to 25 feet, where the trench is too narrow for the shovel to enter. Wider trenches are cut in steps of about 15 feet, the shovel working in the trench for additional depths. Shovels are now made to cut trenches as narrow as a man can enter to lay pipe. ”

“ A laborer cannot dig and raise the earth much more than to the height of his head, and preferably not quite so high, without tiring quickly. After the trench has passed a depth of 4 feet he cannot throw the earth clear of the trench. An additional laborer is needed then at the surface to throw the earth back. He should shovel the earth from a board platform placed at the edge of the trench as a protection to the bank. ”

“ If the soil is sand, into which a shovel or spade can be pushed without any picking of the material, the cost, as already stated, will be about fifteen cents a cubic yard for shovelling, and if the excavation is in trench and not more than six feet deep, the entire trench can be excavated for seven and a half cents a lineal foot. ”

“ Rocks may be thrown in the backfill if not dropped too far and the earth is carefully tamped around and over them. In rock trenches fine materials such as loam, clay, sand, etc., must be provided for the backfilling of the first portion of the trench for 2 feet over the top of the pipe. More clay can generally be packed in an excavation than was taken out of it, but sand and gravel occupy more space than originally even when carefully tamped.
Tamping machines have not come into general use. One type of machine sometimes used consists of a gasoline engine which raises and drops a weighted rod. ”

“ Steam shovels are therefore not suitable for excavation in unstable material, unless the sheeting is driven ahead of the excavation. It is only in the softest ground that ordinary wood sheeting can be driven ahead of the excavation. Steel sheet piling is more suitable for such use. Fig. 93 [84] shows a shovel at work on a trench in Evanston, Illinois.
Shovels are equipped with extra long dipper handles to adapt them to trench excavation. The dipper handle in the picture is longer than the standard for this type of machine. ”

“ For large sewers requiring deep and wide excavation the grade and line stakes are driven in the bottom of the trench about a foot above the finished grade. This requires the constant presence of an engineer who is usually available on work of such magnitude. ”

“ Under the worst conditions of excavation in a hard cemented gravel it may be necessary to provide each man with a pick as well as a shovel, whereas in sand only a shovel is necessary. Two or three crowbars, axes, a length of chain, two or three screw jacks, etc., are provided per gang in case of an unexpected encounter with an obstruction in the trench, such as a boulder, a tree stump, a length of pipe, etc. ”

“ It is carried on chiefly from stations as near as possible to the haaf, where lodges or huts are erected for each boat's crew. The men return to their homes at the end of each week. At each station where the fish are landed, whether that is a temporary station,-such as Feideland, Whalsay Skerries, Stenness, Papa Stour, Spiggie, or Gloup,-or a permanent curing establishment and shop, such as Reawick, Uyea Sound, Quendale, or Hillswick,-factors are employed by the merchants to receive and weigh the fish, and enter the weight in a fish-book. ”

“ The drainage of the station is all modern, and the sewage is disposed of on a sewage farm under the direction of the war department. The water supply is partly from the Aldershot Water Company, and partly from springs and reservoirs collecting water from a reserved area of war department property.
Most of the barracks can accommodate not only the units they are constructed for, but also detachments going through courses of instruction. The total of men, women and children for whom quarters are provided is at times as high as 24,000. ”

“ Every farm has its own water supply. Some are very simple, others are quite elaborate. It is both possible and practical for a farmer to have his own tap water under pressure on the same plan as the city. When good water is abundant within 75 feet of the surface of the ground the farm supply may be had cheaper and better than the city. Even deep well pumping is practical with good machinery rightly installed. Farm waterworks should serve the house and the watering troughs under a pressure of at least 40 pounds at the ground level. ”

“ The necessary outfit to handle all the piping and plumbing on the farm is not very expensive, probably $25.00 will include every tool and all other appliances necessary to put in all the piping needed to carry water to the watering troughs and to supply hot and cold [48] water to the kitchen and the bathroom, together with the waste pipes, ventilators and the sewer to the septic tank. The same outfit of tools will answer for repair work for a lifetime.
Farm water pipes usually are small. There may be a two-inch suction pipe to the force pump, and the discharge may be one and a half inch. ”

“ Further up along this water is a brush shearing-shed, a rough framework of poles with a brush roof. This kind of shed has the advantage of being cooler than iron. It is not rain-proof, but shearers do not work in rainy weather; shearing even slightly damp sheep is considered the surest and quickest way to get the worst kind of rheumatism. The floor is covered with rubbish from the roof, and here and there lies a rusty pair of shears. A couple of dry tar-pots hang by nails in the posts. The “board” is very uneven and must be bad for sweeping. ”

“ The tunnel sloped downwards, of course, to reach the sewer. It sloped too far down. It got below the water-level of the canal. Hamilton was caught in it by the rush of water and almost drowned. So much work had to be done over again. Then came a crushing blow. When the small sewer was finally reached, it proved to be too small for a man to pass through it. But it had a wooden lining, which was bit by bit taken off. When this had been done to within a few feet of the main sewer, two men were detailed to cut their way through. The next night was set as the time for the escape. ”