WOOL MARKET PROSPECTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 437, 20 February 1909, Page 3

WOOL MARKET PROSPECTS.

AN EXPERT OPINION. GOOD NEWS FOR FARMERS. ■ Judged ;by ;ilie' remarks ; made yesterday,''.to a Dominion reporter by Mr. John Mackenzie, the.' well-known:" QuibelL. representative, wool market prospects are dccidedly rosy. Mr. '.Mackenzie haa. just conoluded a tour which embraced. the ; Argentine, >: United States of America, and Australia. ■; Although;trade was bad,:he said, when'heleft Great Britain," there were - pronounced indications' of: a ; ereat revival; of trade in the wool industry. '.The'l9o7-1908 wool Blump was in a measure ''quite different from the - fall in prices experienced in 1901-1902, when the Bradford houses were full of cheap, ; inferior ;ww)ls .and the.: best ; New .Zealand-clips ? could only bring , fourpenoo per • pound./.-' It had been : indisputably. proved that during the past two years"supplies had, diminished,,: and with ; the' poor : ; traae - the ' English turers,'-ana .those also :in . other'.parts , of the : world,':were'' working' simply : from liand 'to mouth. Thero was no doubt that the people generally " all . over the iworld had been hard .upi / :yand'''this:,faot'' , had'.restricted , ''cnasineVpowera;'';: ; Thmjgs-%erß'''dn : jtho.'cK'ang^ now, : ;'however;'and . with ' the better times' there would ;be more : clothes worn; • and con-, sequently a renewal of the demand for wool. In Anwri6a,;.ior- instance, ; it . was very .noticeaDle that the effects of last year's depression were, passing: away, with theiresult that there:; was a general desire for newer ; and better clothes. . ':,..W ■■■■■ i-*

' : The' .Americans' went in largely, for 'New Zealand' Wools, .which were much used for clothing the . working classes of ■ the \ United States.:' The /Amoricans did ; not mind paying -a good price for. good wool, and.it was' a>;fact,v:Baid,/Mt. ./Mackenzie,''.that in.; .New Zealand,'couldvbe found someof.. the: finest. Lincoln .and Romnoy Marsh rwool in tho world. Well classcd, it could hold its own any where.'i.V'lt; was i generally; ■ well,; classed; on' : farms, but on some of the . smaller places farmers seemed to ha-re:.be'come.'possessed of.'the.;idea.';that. ; any baled mixture would do. .'" . v .If . theso wool-growers could only, see their bales'iripped ' up. in', the big show/ rooms, disclosing ' the /.heterogeneous of \ileece.' wool; bellies, and picces in one. ugly heap, . hear, the'- condemnatory, criticisms i or. tho oxperts,: and ( note the consequent fall. in 'prices/f.they'wbuld 'make'i.npitßeiff'.niindsithai. ■ their., next wool clipshould bo properly, classed,/ even, if it were only four bales.' The' classing ; necessaryi to meet the; requirements' of-foreign buyers was . very simplo. It was merely required to place uceco wool, pieces;, bellies, and locks inseparate parcels 'and brand the ■' parcels accordingly., Tho matter was: one . which. required serious ' 'confeiderdtibni' said•'.Mr./..Mackenzie,. as/'he had' noted /that jthe; Argentine farmers .were' improving vin/ ; 'all their//methods,; anddnKthe future , they .were likyy.-.t0.. become.. keen, competitors. with .Ail b:tralia:and>New<Zealand,for the world's wbol trade. • :The * Americans/. were' also going' .in 1 ' more for sheep breeding. .. ...... '/ Mr.- Mackenzie'; met. several' ; of; ; their mo'st' prominent-^breeders-at '/ the ; Sheep r Breeders'/ held'last Juno /at/ Bristol,' and; later at. Newcastle,-. where there Argentine men. At-present Argentina wont m more for Lincolns' than for any . other 'breed of;sheep, - From.'this' 'it xould' bo.seen.-where New. Zealand wool was :going ; te./find increased: competition;" as ,''thb: years came 'along, and it: was:'important' that every, care should; bo taken' that the New, / Zealand . wool'/.trade ...would,: not -'.bo ic-r ; juredyt.th'rougtrithefi.effocfeoft.bai.rclasßing'/ .which.would ;inin ;;th'e - character;of the., clip:/ .There -was ;na doubt ,tha,t■ the getup of; soma; of'};thfl/.-New-TZfiffraffl'^woor'^wass,tiri'e^Mlled : in the world, 'and surely other Dominion farmers could follow on "similar lines, if they only took the troublo.

Referring to other matters in ■ connection with the; wool -.trade,' Mr.' l . Mackenzie' 1 said •that.' he. was surprised that Now -Zealand gentine buyer, as he considered that Argentina was pre-eminently adapted for 'New Zealand i sheep. Mr: Mackenzie expressed ; opinion, tnat New. Zealand . shMp were : httter; than those'of.'.Great:'Britain, , hr.obn-,. stitution, .'because they we?o seldom housed. :He thought'.' K;> a' mistake ■ to 1: house - V stud Bheep. but of course the .rigorous English climate, made this necessary in Great" Bri-;tain.*fV-E;.::v'"a;.i: 1 /x'x>_i In Australia things were : very good; )Of course, there was always a . somewhere in' that' great, oountry." :It; : had "been dry in Western Australia, where)'by the war, ■the system ,of '■ wool-classing ' was deplorably' bad in oiily too:_maiiy instances;':'but there' had been- magnificent- harvests • in X South Australia,- and '-the western midland districts of Victoria, while there had never • been a better season in Central Queensland. It had been very- dry, howover, on .the Darling Downs.