"Murrayfield is the name of an estate owned
by Mr. William Murray, and it consists of about one hundred acres of land
near O'Brien's Bridge. Upon this there is a farm where a number of
interesting experiments have been made, a soap manufactory, a vinegar
manufactory, a candle manufactory, and a colonial wine manufactory. We have
lately been afforded an opportunity of inspecting the whole of the
establishments, and in our description we will begin, where our inspection
commenced.
THE VINEGAR MANUFACTORY
Here vinegar is made of sugar, molasses,
small fruit, such as cherries, plums, gooseberries, and apples, sugar beet
and white cabbage. We were first taken to the vinegar shed, in which there
are about sixty puncheons that will hold about 250 gallons each, one that
will contain 900 gallons, and two others that will hold 500 gallons each.
There were about 15,000 gallons of vinegar in this shed at the time of our
visit. In another part of the building there is a fruit crusher, which
grinds the apples to pulp, and crushes the smaller fruit before it goes into
the boiler. The cabbage are put in whole and the sugar beet is crushed. The
boiler, or copper, will contain 400 gallons, and about one foot from the top
there is a strainer, above which the fruit is placed in order that the pipes
which conduct the liquid away may not get choked. When the liquid leaves the
copper it is conducted by means of shoots to a tank and then into a wooden
cooler, after which it is allowed to run into the fermenting vats. One of
these is a large square wooden tank. The other two are large casks. After
fermentation the vinegar is conducted across the yard to a little brick
building heated by a flue. Here it is allowed to stand in casks to acetify,
and as the temperature is kept at about 80 degrees, it does not take long to
render the liquor sour. There are three tanks in the yard, and into those
the vinegar is next conducted; after which it goes into casks in another
part of the premises, where a number of sheds that were destroyed by the
last flood are in course of repair.
In addition to the 15,000 gallons in the
vinegar shed, there are about 15,000 gallons more in the other sheds and in
the store room, so that the quantity in stock is about 30,000 gallons. The
vinegar which has by this time been matured, then goes to the shed which we
first described, and here it is kept in stock ready for sale. There is a
regular network of two and a half inch pipes under the yard, and through
these the vinegar is conducted from one place to another by means of a
double action pump, which is also used to pump the water required from a
well on the premises. This well is 22 feet deep, and is bricked from top to
bottom. All the fruit used in the manufacture of vinegar is produced in the
orchard at Murrayfield, and the sugar beet is grown on the farm. The
cabbages used come from Port Esperance.
THE SOAP WORKS
At the soap manufactory at Murrayfield
eighteen tons of soap per fortnight can be turned out with the appliances
available. The building in which this branch of the business is carried on
is a wooden one, two stories high. On the upper floor are the two pans now
in use, one capable of holding 10 tons, and the other 8 tons. These pans are
set in brick, and are heated by means of fires beneath. Into these pans the
tallow is shovelled from the casks. The caustic soda used in the manufacture
of soap is placed in a tank on the ground floor, and there diluted with
water, the alkaline solution being pumped up into the pans as required, and
pumped out again when it is become exhausted, or reduced to the condition
when it is known amongst soap makers as "spent lees". When the lees was made
with soda ash instead of caustic soda it was boiled in a tank. When the
tallow, lees, resin, soda, and other ingredients used have been sufficiently
boiled, everything is made ready for putting the liquid soap into the
frames. Fifteen of these frames, when fitted together, form a box, into
which the soap is poured from buckets. These buckets are suspended from the
rafters and are filled with large ladles. When the soap has become cool and
set, the frames are taken off, one at a time, and the slab of soap exposed
is cut off by means of a wire. The slabs are then placed upon the cutting
table, five at a time, and each slab is cut into 24 bars of soap by means of
wires, which are passed through divisions made on the table.
The bars are all branded with the name of the
maker, and marked either No 1, or No 2, according to their quality. After
this they are stacked, ready for packing. The boxes used for the soap are
all made of Tasmanian wood, on the premises, in a shed kept for the purpose
and they are made to hold either a hundredweight or half that quantity. When
the packing is completed the name of the proprietor of the manufactory is
stencilled on the boxes, and the soap is ready for sale. In connection with
the soap works there is a copper, over which the tallow casks are steamed in
order that all the tallow may be got out of them. Both Tasmanian and
imported tallow is used at Murrayfield, but the greater part is from
Victoria. A large quantity is kept in store, and there is also a lot of
caustic soda in iron drums, and resin in barrels in the store room, ready
for use. The soap made, appears to be of excellent quality, and fully equal
to any of the same description that is imported. A large business is done,
and at the time of our visit both the large pans were full.
THE CANDLE WORKS
There are two candle houses with separate
appliances, and in the winter time from one and a half to three tons of
candles are made every week. Upon first entering the candle house we were
taken to the fat loft, where all the fat used in the manufacture of the
candles is placed, upon its arrival on the premises. Here all the fat is cut
up by hand, and then let down through a shoot into a large iron copper,
where it is rendered. After being rendered it is placed in a wooden vat with
water. This vat is called a "settler", and all the impurity in the tallow
sinks to the bottom of the water. The tallow is then melted once more
preparatory to its being poured into the moulds, or frames, as the
candle-makers call them. These moulds consist of a number of metal pipes the
size of a candle, fitted together, with a trough at the top for the
reception of the tallow. The bottom of each of the pipes is shaped as we see
the top of the mould candles sold in the shops. The wicks, which are made of
cotton, are imported from England in balls, and are cut into the proper
lengths by women and children employed at Murrayfield for the purpose.
The wicks are stretched through the moulds,
over wires, and when all is ready, the melted tallow is dipped from the
boiler into a large can, from which the operator fills the frames, two at a
time. Each frame contains 18 candles, or three pounds weight, and there are
300 frames in two houses. The cooling of the tallow in the frames depends a
good deal upon the weather, and sometimes water is thrown over them to
hasten the setting. When the tallow has set, the frames are lifted up and
the wires over which the wicks were stretched, are drawn out. With an
instrument made for the purpose all the tallow is scraped from the trough,
and after this the ends of the wicks are clipped off, and the candles pulled
from the moulds. They are then packed in cases, bought for the purpose, and
containing quantities ranging from 50 to 200 Ibs. After the tallow has been
rendered, the refuse that is left in the copper, is all placed in a strong
screw press, where all the tallow that remains is extracted. The stuff left
in the press is called ""raves"" and it is taken out in solid blocks five or
six inches thick, and sold for feeding pigs, poultry, and dogs. There are
two of these rave presses on the premises, and the second candle house,
which is not always in use, contains the same appliances as the one we have
described. The candles appear to be of good quality, and it is a noticeable
fact that in connection with the manufactory there is very little of that
unpleasant smell that generally renders a residence in the vicinity of a
candle manufactory a thing not to be desired. Outside the candle house there
is a weighing shed, where everything that comes into the place is weighed.
Another industry carried on at Murrayfield is
COLONIAL WINE MAKING
Wine is made here on a pretty extensive scale
from grapes, gooseberries, and cherries, and at the time of our visit there
were about thirty hogsheads in the cellar in wood, and a large quantity in
bottle. All the wine is made of the juice of the fruit grown upon the
estate, and there is no fortifying with spirits. The fruit,, which is first
crushed, is placed in a large tank with water and sugar, and after it has
been allowed to steep for a sufficient length of time, the liquor is drawn
off and fermented, after which it is put in casks and stored in the cellar.
A good deal of the wine is bottled. We tasted
from that made from grapes, cherries, and gooseberries, and that which had
been in the wood for five or six years was very good. There is also in store
some wine made from mixed fruits. It is all disposed of in the colony, and
there is a ready sale for it.
THE FARM
Besides growing the ordinary crops, and
following the ordinary agricultural pursuits, Mr. W. Murray has for years
past made a number of interesting experiments, in connection with the
growing of sugar beet, flax, and canary seed. In 1867, when the starling of
a beetroot sugar manufactory in Tasmania was first mooted, Mr. Murray
commenced to grow sugar beet for the seed, and in order to ascertain whether
the soil and climate were adapted for it. That both the soil and the climate
were adapted to the growth of sugar beet is pretty well proved by the fact
that on the farm at Murrayfield twenty tons to the acre have been obtained.
The seed of the variety known as the "White Silesian" has been grown
largely, and 600 Ibs of seed were obtained in one year. The cultivation of
flax was commenced as far back as 1863, and it has been grown ever since,
for the seed. In 1866, an attempt was made, on a small scale, to manufacture
the fibre, but it was found to be impracticable without machinery, as hand
labour was far too expensive. At one time, between one and two acres were
under flax, and it is still grown for the seed. Both the soil and the
climate appear to be very suitable, and the yield has been 10 to 12 bushels
per acre. Six or eight acres of the Murrayfield farm have been sown with
canary seed each year for many years past, and large quantities of seed are
produced and sold. In fact, the imported seed has almost, if not quite, been
driven out of the market. Some has been exported but it is now all sold in
Tasmania. The canary seed seems to flourish well. Before the late flood,
chicory had been grown very successfully for some years, but the part of the
estate upon which this was grown was left covered with stones and debris.
The quantity of land under chicory was about two acres. There are five acres
of lucerne growing now, and the sheep appear to thrive splendidly upon it.
The growing of hops on a small scale was
commenced some years ago, and the area of land devoted to this has been
increased this season so that the hop grounds will cover about three acres
and three quarters. Close to where the soap and candle manufactories are
situated there is a large shed where seventeen head of cattle are fattened
in stalls for market. They are fed on mangolds and com, the mangolds being
cut up in one of the Ransom and Sons patent root-slicers. There are over a
dozen pig styes near the cattle shed, and each has two or three tenants. One
monster pig was killed the other day, and its weight was found to be 621 Ibs.
There are over 50 pigs being fattened at the present time. The quantity of
land under fruit is between eleven and twelve acres, more French crabs and
pearmains being grown there than any other variety. Murrayfield is a regular
hive of industry, and its proprietor deserves every credit for the
successful manner in which he has established so many manufactories.
It will be a long time before the traces of
the last flood are all removed. Part of the estate is still covered with
immense boulders and smaller stones brought down by the torrent, and in one
place extending over an area of about 50 yards square the logs that floated
down are lying packed close together. To prevent further damage, Mr. Murray
is having a fine embankment constructed where this land abuts on the creek.
This embankment extends 40ft into the creek and is 200 ft long. It is made
of large stones, with a slope on the water side of one foot in five”.
