SHEEP-SKINS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16153, 6 March 1918, Page 3

SHEEP-SKINS.

THE REQUISITION ARRANGEMENTS. SOME POINTS EXi'LAINi'.D. Some farmers appear to be in dou : -t still as to detai's of the arrangements made for the purchase of sheepskins vnder the requisition scheme. Tho j>o.-i----tion, as explained bv the Imperial Supplies Department, is that all sheepskins, except those from sheep slaughtered lor export at freezing works, are requisitioned on behalf of the Imperial Government, and it is unlawful for iMiy p* rson to sell or offer to sell, or purchase or offer to purchase, skias, save by way of sala to and purchase on behalf cf the Crown. Provision is made for the issue, by the Controller, of dealers' license.-,, l\v which certain persons may purchase sheepskins from li.rmors. Such purchases must afterwards, however, be submitted io'- valuation and purchase by the Government through a registered Government broker. Farmers selling skins to a dealer should in all case? in.-ist on seeing the dealer's li.'cn=.e. Licenses are :d t o issued to certain individuals to |);nr!:ase skins nud skinpieces which lir.w been mi 1-milted to vahut.on but have hern rejected by the Government. skm-\aluer as unsuitable for Imperial Government iequirenicnv>. Such skins and are follmottgered by the pureiiaser on his own account, and tho resulting slipe wool must bo submitted for valuation and purchase by the Crown through a registered Government broker. RANGE OF VALUES. The price at which the Imperial Got ernment agreed to purchase sheepskins from New Zealand growers ift go per cent. _above the average prices realised in ?>ew Zealand for sheepskins in January, 1914. The following is the scale of values per pound for skins with sound or undamaged pelts:--Fine Coiars; Half- rrofs- cro*9Me.rino. bred. I'rcil. bred. Three-quarter d. d. d. d. to full-wool Mi-m 13-11 1- -13 11J-12J Half-wool .. PJ-Oi 11-1-2 IOA-lli JO -Hi Short lo quar-ter-wool .. "i- s. l . t-.'.-ioj n'-ioj si-inj Shorn .. 5J- 6J 8-0 Si- SU 8 -10 Lambs .. 11-12£. Skins with damaged or fautly pelts are to be valued at prices proportionate to the above. Seedy .skins are to be valued at lower values according to their condition. Black skins are to be valued according io their proportionate value to ordinary skins of the samo class. In valuing green or salted soundpelted skins allowance is made for tho extra value of the pelts compared with dried sound skins of similar quality. The value placed on the skins is tho price at which the Government purchases tho skins delivered loose to drays ex brokers' stores after valuation, all chargej for store handling, salting !if necessary), weighing, classifying, cataloguing, displaying for vaJuaiiori, storage for fourteen days after purchase, invoicing, etc., being paid by the seller; t.-nd for these services the broker is on titled to charge such commission or other remuneration as may be in accordance with the established custom of the trade in the locality. The co>t of baling or bundling skins after valuation, and cart nee from store to rail, is, however, bornefiy the Imperial Government. fourteen days alter completion of purchase by valuation and invoicing payment is made, free of exchange, to the broker in whoso possession tiio .-kins are held, and the broker receives and accounts for samo as the agent of the seller. Skins are trimmed at the brokers stores by removing shanks, cheek--pieces, and dirt, and arc "classified into lots according to quality and length of wooL -'ind condition of pelts. Each lot. may "contain tk ins belonging to many different owners, but each owners skins are weighed separately before being adaed to the lot.

CAPE OF SIGNS. A great loss to the farmers in New Zealand results through caroless .tlayinn- of skins and indifferent care on tho farm afterwards. The annual loss due to these causes runs into many thousands of pounds, and the great quantity of pelts which arc useless after the wool has been removed and have to be destroved is deplorable. Skins should he' carefully flayed, painted j while soft with an arsenical mixture as a protection from weevils, and care- j fully snread over rails or wires under cover to dry. vSkins from sheep which have died should, if found in time, receive the same care as those from sheep slaughtered for consumption. The difference in value between a sheepskin producing a first-grade pelt and a skin carrying a similar quantity and quality of wool, but with a ruined pelt, is at least'3s per skin. DISPOSAL OF SKINS AFTER , PURCHASE. Sheepskins after valuation and purchase aiD allotted to fellmongers for treatment at contract prices under Government expert supervision. All fellmongering works in New Zealand are engaged on Government work. Tho slipe wool, after being passed by the inspectors and baled, is revalued for Imperial purposes, and delivered to shipping stores for -dumping and shipment. The pelts after curing are graded into qualities (aJI useless pelts lieing discarded) and packed into casks, and after supplying the requirements of New Zealand tanners, and of the New Zealand Defcnce Department for jerkin leather, the balance is shipped to the Imperial Government. SKIN'S FROM SHEEP .SLAUGHTERED FOR EXPORT. Sheepskins from sheep slaughtered at freezing works for export are not requisitioned as skins, but are fellmougered by the freezing companies on account of the owners. > The resulting slipe wool is purchased on behalf of the Imperial Government at a fixed basis of prices according to quality, and the pelts are allowed to be shipped on account of the owners under certain restrictions. j