YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 734, 5 February 1910, Page 10

YORKSHIRE LETTER.

THE GLASS OF WOOL AMERICA BUYS.' (From Oar Special Correspondent.); v Bradford,, December 24, 1909.'. There ia really nothing-very important to say in connection with, the colonial wool trade, honco I purpose to-day' devot- ; ing this lotter principally to the class of Engliah'wool that America buys, it always being as well for readers everywhere interested in the raw material to know,what' our cousins across the Atlantic are buying. During the-past few years English wools' have played a very. prominent put in tho trado of this .country with 1 the United States, and but for the; excellent support, given to most, descriptions of, Home-grown wools, a very different; state of affairs

would have obtained. America has'always been looked upon as our best oustomer for domestic fleeces, and more than once have its buyers pulled tho chestnuts out of the Are. In 1907 the competition of American importers at several country fairs. saw. some good priceß forthcoming for medium tofl'no fleeces,-and when in 1908 markets wcro dominated by very, slack conditions,and tho slump'had mado a.serious inroad upon .prices, American buying led to considerable recovery; iand I make bold,'to say that when tho present year finishes tho amount of English wools America will havo bought will exceed all previous reo'ords. These facts alone Bhow how valuable is' England's American wool trade, and but for that important market ■ values would be on a.very different;level, and many a. sheep-farmer: would, be 'mourning over lower wool prices. The United States cannot please anyone in this country,over many of its laws, but on the.Question'of wool oven the high, exorbitant,'and'absurd duties cajtnot keep out of that market Eng-lish-grown fleeces, and never will. „■„.'

",., : .;■;! --QUANTITr BOUGHT.,; -. u ../;.'', '■' .Before- proceeding to ' discuss:, the qnes-; tion ■'• let-.me, give the -reader ■ some' intelligent conception. of the quantity .of Homo-grown wool oxported to the United Stateo during recent years: To make the table still more complete,' I ako exhibit the quantity of foreign and colonial. wool sent from this country to America, and the following' are-the .•:'--.-' ' : ; '.''.: Foreign and- '- , .Homegrown.. ■ Colonial., .Year.' -. :,, Lbs. Lbs. 1904 ......;. .26,060,400 - 60,454,200 : : , -. 1905 ....;„... 24,806,300 '.",■■■: -78,755.700 •"•-' - 1906 .....;...;...:. 18,971,400 „'. 63,967,800 ... '.-' 1907:...:......_... 17,922,400 '.- : 69,889,154 -, 1908 .-..:...:„..... 24,999,400 .. •'■ 57,474,119.-. ~ 1909 •...';„...;.„.:' :,-. - -. - *116,213.654 ■ -.' .' * Eleven months' ; - shipments.. only.: - I. wish I had been able to give the figures referring to the eleven'months', exports-of Homo-grown wools up to the end of November, but the Board of Trade returns make no distinction until the fulldotailedparticnlars afo given in the Annual Statement published about the middle of each year. However, the monthly, shipments from the Bradford Consular district offer; a fair oriterion of what !b doing, and up' to the end ;of. last. November .they.'beat all records. .Wool" amounting in valuo to, £1,827,054: was shipped,'' the -next highest total being £1,783,255 in 1897, when largo anticipatory shipments were sent acrosß the Atlantic before the imposition of,the Dingley Tariff, a "free-wool" tariff obtaining from'lß9s to August 1(, 1697, but even that huge 1 totalhttß been .exceeded '.this. year, under a taxation of 5Jd. per lb.! ■ .- .

; AMEBIOAN DUTIES. ON .WOOL,; ;.■; .It should be known :■ by; . ovoryi'Bheep:'breeder in tho world that American'buyers, cannot purchase every class- of wool, not be'oauso it cannot bo used across, the At-' lantic, but because its.fiscal arrangements will not allow of it being done. ,It may not be'commonly known, but wools' 1 going into the United ' States ard scheduled'- under three heads—namely, Class I,' Class 11, and,olass III; and I have often wondered if tho average reader has a clear knowledge of what is meant.by these. Quoting from tho official tariff schedule of tho'American Government, the following is a'brief 'description'of tho three classes;—. ,;- V. -v...' Class I.—That,is to say, merino,: mestiza, : mctz, or metis, wools; pi other• wools of merino blood/immediate or'rom'oteT. Down clothing wodls, and woolb of like-,character with any of the preceding, inoludingJßagr. dad: wool, China lamb s . ; wool,;/-! Oaato(; Brahco, ■. Adrianople • skin•;.. tvooI; ;: 6tii butcher's wool, and ...Buoh as 'have ,-> been heretofore : usually-, -. imported,-.'-. into ■' the? United- States: from '■'Buenos '.A'yres, ; Newi Zoaland,"Australia;..'- :Capd>.of. G66d ! .'Hope;; Kuseia, Groat Britain;'.'! Canada)',' Egypt,; Morocco, and.elsewhere,-and ail wOols not' hereinafter iricludc'd 'in- Olasßcs H.'and 111.,.-, '■ Class ll.—That'is; to. say, wold, Lincolnshire;- Down , combing-iwool,' Canada longwools;.-.or •other,;like jCombinKi wools of English blood;-and uauilllyj known by the terms herein- uscdr and-aIBO hair of the camel, Angora'gOat/'alpaoa,-and other like animals. A . »>"" :'■'! Hi :-iA" A ' .'■'.-'.'" ■•■'

. Class lll.—That is to say,' Bonskol,-native: South American, Oordovaj'y'Yalparaiso.-.na- 1 tivo Smyrna;'Russian''camet's.'hair, "and all' snoli woolb of like character,'as'have'.been, heretofore imported ;into',,the, United : States from Turkey,-. Greece, Syria;: and: elsewhere, excepting improved;* wools,-, hereinafter provided fori ''-> .-">■• ■ '. - It will bo seen from'.' the ■ above that;', generally -speaking//Class -I comprises, merinos; Class 11, crossbreds; and Olass 111, low carpet 1 wools, whioh' aro-mostly admixture: of wool -and* kemps,; -or:-' doad /hairs:;' Tery large quantities of' the, last' two descriptions are grown in the.-United, King-, dom and- shipped'aorosS; tho' Atlantic',, all: our -.■ differont, breeds ,of, 'crossbreds' beingmore or less '''-sent,-' while- Scotch 'Black-, facod, which goes under the head.of carpet wools, ia> also -exported, in '.large'.weights. In the latter description,tho duty,charged is a sliding 'one; that' is, 'importers have to pay more. in proportion .to the Cost'of the wool: Up to the beginning-of September thero- was a great, struggle, between Bradford, > Glasgpw, and. American houses to buy Blackf aced descriptions .at - under. 6d. per lb., in order to got tho wool in at what is- known" as low duty rate.-. That moans to say. that if a decent; quality of Blackfacod wool can be bought at, say, s!d. porlb., then it goes into the.United States at ,4 cents, or, 2d.,' per. lb. duty, whereas "if "it costs in the- first instance 6d. per .lb. and upwards, then the duty charged'is 7-centsj-.or 3Jd.; : por< lb'.,' while if it contains not:over 8 per,cent- of;dirt tho duty is'6di per lb. On Olass 1,-namely, •merinos, the duty is 11 cents,'.or 5Jd.,-por lb.; on: Class 11, namely crossbreds and English, the'duty is 12 cents, or. 6d.. .per: lb;; and on Class 111, as I have alroady pointed out, it varies from 2d.-to 3Jd. per lb., according to. the first cost: of the raw material.■■'..-"..■ -;''V: '.-"■ ; ,;' • : -,'

■'/■- '; ~'.WHAT AMEEIOA WANTS,';": •,, 'The question naturally, arises, .What aro the.special classes of English wool whioh America.- .wants? It ban be said, that ;United'States importers buy almost everything from tho strongest' Lincolns' to' the finest Downs, -it'slmply.being.-a -question with them. of..what is , fashionable,' and what .wools aro going. into consumption. To b'jgin"with, they at.times,buy fairquantiof. lustre wools; such as Lincoln,, Not-1 tihghain,- and'Yorkshtro. '.All -this-year these' wools have not'enjoyed the popular favour that less bright■■ descriptions have, but then-day will come.- Lincoln hogs; and wethers, particularly the latter, aro to-day-the. cheapest articlo oh the markot, including Devons. When- we como.td demi-, lustro ;wools, such' as-Irish, Kcnts, Norfolk halfbreds, Midland Countieß halfbredß,'and North 'hogs and wethers, then' we enter what I may call the American region, all those being bought and shipped in, lareo quantities. These produce a nice-worsted spun thread; and are' largely used across the Atlantic At the.same timo the prime favourites' are Shropshire hogs. - and wethers; and woolsof-the Down olass:.During the last ten years hosiery wools-.have increased in popularity,-, and British farmers, where tho country, is .suitable, cannot do bettor, than- maintain ,and. increase their Down flocks. Hosiery wools, as thby aro called, enjoy considerable, popularity at the'har.dß of both the' Homo, American, and, Continental .trades.: Business everywhere io'good in these woolb,. and in'the United States it literally ..• booms. ■•■ Tho fact is significant that Shropshire, Southdown, Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Oxford Down, wools are all occupying to-day: an exceedingly strong position, and with stocks'being so light there is little.'.fear of these depreciating in value.;" During the last few years.men and women everywhere have taken to; using larger..quanti-: ties of woollen undergarments, while the latest phase of sweaters being worn, in jacket form by the gentler sex has given a further/fillip to these wools in all countries alike.-The wools from Punta Arenaß and the Falkland Islands are nlso very good for hosiery yarn spinning. ■■"■■

i WASHED yEBSUB UNWASHED WOOLS; \ ■■ Kepeatediyhas it'been' stated that drains'the past summer.that fewer Enclish farmers .'are rosorting to washing their, sheep before shearing, and. I unhesitatingly say this .is a, mistake. -American' buyors never . purchase '. unwashed wools, and if British sheep-farmers want to command the support of their boat customer they had better. continue the old-time practice.. Owing - entirely' to the heavy duties they • have to, pay on English and colonial wool, American buyers • cannot afford to purchase anything but the lightest ciutditioned parcels. ..The rcador can see that thoy cannot afford to .pay 6d. per lb. on heavy earth and grease, and oven when they are buying Australian merinos, Now Zealand and South American crossbreds they want the cleanest and the best. .'.LOOIUNjJ AHEAD. Can Amoflca, bo expected in the future to continue to buy Homo and foreign grown woolB? I answer in the affirmative. v United States manufacturers can-no moro do without these wools than thoy can do .without coal to ,raiso steam, for thoir. factories. The fact, is: significant thnt the promised., great ..prosperity of American' sheop-breedlng under' high protective duties ha 3 never boon realised, and never will be. Amorican ehoep-brecders wore, repoatodly told that the Dingloy tariff ratos -•""'■' afford them adcauato nrotflotion.mul

that they would bo able to crow all the wool thoir own manufacturers would need, but somehow America ia buying more English aud colonial wool than over it did, and its own sheep stocks are nothing near so high as they onco.were. All that Home, colonial, and South. American sheopbreeders have to do is to look well to their : flocks. The price of sheep has. fallen tremendously, dno to the low-values' ralingfor mutton, but tUiB-is not the time to grow careless, for mutton will be dearer- before cheaper. Wool is fairly high, hence lot llockmastcrs everywhere maintain their stocks for all thoy are worth, and by "producing good, sound fleeces they will in the future command the best support that; America can give. ■; .'■.■'■ ■'■ ..