Kaiapoi Woollen Factory.

The Kaiapoi Woollen Company's works, of which we give an illustration, are situated about ten minutes' walk from the railway station, in the direction of the Maori reserve, on the banks of the Cam—a confluent of. the Waimakariri. The ground is about eleven acres, in the centre of which stands the factory itself. The main building, which has three floors, is 220 feet long and 108 feet wide, giving accommodation for the teasing and carding machines, a designer's loom, small spinning loom, and a large storeroom above. Besides, this, there are three loom or weaving sheds, covering a ground area of about 200 feet page 165by 100 feet; the engine-room, milling house (154 feet by 90 feet), dye house, drying house, and finishing room; a two-storey brick store 60 feet by 58 feet, the lower floor of which is used for sorting wool, and the upper for washed wool or stores; the wool-sorters' room, which holds about 300 bales; the sulphuring house; a brick house, in which the gas for illuminating the mill at night is made; carpenters' and smiths' shops, &c. The boiler house contains five 20-feet Cornish boilers, 5 feet in diameter, tested to a pressure of 60 lbs. to the inch. The engine (made by Scott Brothers), is a horizontal compound stationary engine of 60 h.p. nominal. The manufactures of the Company include yarns, blankets, flannels, shirtings (plain and fancy), mauds, merino coat linings, tartans, merino rugs, horse clothing, freize, indigo serge, ladies' dress cloths, tweeds of all kinds, Oxford mixture, and Zulu rugs. The number of hands employed at the Kaiapoi works is 250.

Besides these works the Company has spacious warehouses, offices, &c, in Cashel-street, Christchurch (an illustration of which we also give); and at the rear of these, fronting Bedford-row, a large clothing factory, employing several hundred hands, where all sorts of clothing for boys and men are made up.

The Company was first formed in 1875, and has steadily progressed, till it has gained its present solid position and extensive trade. It has gained principal prizes and medals at all the industrial exhibitions, both provincial and general, including the New Zealand International and the Melbourne International.