We now come to the final operation, the mode of expressing the oil.  The screw press we do not need to describe, as it consists simply of two plates, brought together by a screw, in the same way as the press used for squeezing apples in the manufacture of cider, and the cheese press.  Let us look therefore at the stamper press.  It consists of an iron box, open at the top, at each end of which are two plates, capable of containing between them a bag of seed which shall yield a cake weighing 9 lbs.  To one of the inner plates of the box is attached a wedge, beside which is inserted another filling up, and then the driving wedge is introduced; and lastly, another block is let in between this wedge and the other plate as soon as the bags have been placed vertically in the press-box.  A stamper of wood, worked by cambs on a revolving shaft, is allowed to fall about 1 foot 10 inches, at the rate of fifteen strokes a minute, for about six minutes.  This stamper is 16 feet long by 8 inches square, and falls on the head of the wedge, and drives it in to a level at the top of the box.  Another stamper is employed to drive down an inverted wedge, so as to release the working one, and enable the attendant to take out the cake.  A press of this kind will turn out only about 12 cwts. of cake a day.

We come now to the hydraulic press.  This is certainly the most approved invention that has yet been adopted, and it is simply a Bramah press adjusted for the purpose.  It has been in use for about thirty years, though it was, of course, at first less skilfully and scientifically constructed than it is now.  In one of the earliest of these presses, the box which contains the seed runs on a tramway in order to facilitate its removal from the heating-kettle, so that each time the bags have to be replenished the whole box has to be removed; and this causes no inconsiderable loss both of power and time, for it has, when filled, to be replaced on the ram and lifted bodily upwards in order to bring it flush with the top of the press, which fits the press-box and acts as a point of resistance.  In this arrangement there are introduced only one press and one set of small pumps.

The next press we come to is Blundell’s, which is admitted to be by far the most efficient in use to-day.  Here there are two distinct presses, or a double hydraulic press, fed by two pumps, one 2-1/2 inches and the other 1 inch in diameter, both connected with the separate cylinders by hydraulic tubing.  The stroke of these pumps is 5 inches, and they make thirty-six strokes a minute.  The larger pump is weighted to 740 lbs. on the square inch, and the smaller to 5540 the square inch.  The diameter of the rams is 12 inches, and the stroke 10 inches.  Each press is fitted to receive four bags of seed, and it produces 64 lbs. of cake at each operation.  After the heated seed has been placed in the bags, the attendant proceeds to fill one press, and then he opens the valve between the large pump