OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 927, 21 September 1910, Page 5

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

• — THE WOOL REQUIREMENTS OF PRE-SENT-'DAY CLOTHING. (l f rom Our Snccial CorrecDOndent.) Bradford, August 5, 1910. No hotter oxuiuplo can be given of the utility and value of raw wool than that ot' the varied purposes to which tho,material is pat. To examine tlio spring or winter display of clothing in 0110 of tho big city stores; to stand in a public thoroughfare and notice the difl'orenco between tho many suitings and dress( clothes worn; tb reflect 011 the many articles of domestic and industrial wear luado from this material, is to bo impressed with the immensity of its application. It-is the object of this article to give to those of limited cxpcricncc regarding; tlio uses of wool some idea of its value; to show also of what types of wools tho diversified clothing into which it is made is competed, and to indicate, further the extent to'.which the features characteristic of tho finished products depend on tho quality and general reliability of tho raw material. To bring such an article within reasonable scope, worsted goods only, riot woollen, will be dealt with, and for convenience these will lie divided into threo classes, vi»., heavy goods for domestic ■ wear,;suitings, and.dress goods, arid lightweight fabrics- such as linings, hosieries, etc.

Tho first of these classes is well repi esentod by carpets, which are. an article of extreme usefulness, in that' they take up hugo quantities' of .material, which would be: unsuiled for .other purposes.<! Discoloured wool, britch woo],' wool uf indifferent variation and'.handle.and full of kemps uin be introduced tor . these goods; us-: they. do not necessitate the us« of . fine counts - of- yarn, or -of matoriul which; will'withstand .'great'-tension,' nor do they require that the material should 1» ,ol' .masked softness as regards: handle. For these,. however, there are naturally materials which are p»iich better than, others; thus lustre is a desired, charac-. teristic, itgiving u brightness to thefabric, which often means its sale.. Dniformity.in the fibre anil flexibility are both features whioh 'on-one-hand enable a.-uniform . face to be produced, and. oa the other improve the capacity of the material. ". Cotton warns are used. along with tho :wool material which ill weft, but the wool is- so employed that 'evidences of cotton aro.. absent;'-it; being,: almost altogether buried. . Along Willi, wool,:'certain wool and.;..liair- noils -are;i often employed, and, in., this' case more than, in that• before-mentioned, lustre is ! ah all-important matter,' for in: thick pile carpets- especially,- such ' as Wilton j aud. Axmiuster, stiffness ot fibre .is found I .to be very ('sseutial. , ;i . ..Thti .second class—suitings and' dress goods—is represented by worsted, coatings, and ;troiiseriugs: of line,^medium,-and low j classes. Many of these are constructed from, woollen';, yarns,: but; great quantities, of the lower class are known :- as .'serges,! and ; are made' !from.. crossbred wool of 32V to 50V quality, according >:.,to; !the worsted system.; These aro-. always.,charac-: tensed , by a crispness of. handle; they, are also, rough in ..surface,/'and their. iip.; pea'ranceis. considerably brighter !than ; that! of 'any..'other, savo lustre.fabrics/ For; wearing,;; rio : labi-ics ■ beat these, and us' liheap clothing :for' the masses ho material is -made, more in ;tne.;worstcd.:trade'. The dress fabrics portion- of .these. are mado much looser' in" structure than the coativ.ga, but in all there is comparative coarseness.. ; Considerable introduction of colour takes place, to beautiful-these! in the forniof siripes, checks, twills, of widely-varying order., V. . In the medium/and fine wool! types very- fine crossbred, or Botany .'material ls' ; employed for the best fabrics. ' This must be of good, colour, length, .and soundness, while for., medium,, qualities;wliioh' 1 are . often, of heavier' weights, !-and therefore, made . oi' thicker . yains,- .skin wools and shorter .fleece wool types uiay be introduced.. : lh the best, ; good- colour. is all-important,: while in the lower types discoloured l , wools' may be' eiiiployeil', v.'ilhout' any;. disastrous ; effect-!upon the., sale of', the ;article, even though theyv.miiii,mise -to. -soiiie; Extent - the. character "of. fulness* and warmth. ? For ..men-'s ..wear goods, a smooth surface fabric-is required, soft to the handle, and. of, great warmth in colour.', livery variety;,of colouring; is adopted, -.anil ■! every. type of design, but tho. materials are. : generallyj.'of. a more, subdued.order than, is the case with'those required for ladies' wear. llenlion should:', also be, made'of; the variation - in weight-of fabric's produced in this class. ■Very light-weight goods- are' required: for Eastern markets, .while' for the .home very heavy, goods - are made.ln- all . cases it Ms a, great advantage, if the wooi.employtd is su .ttraagt; uniform,, and shafty as to, admit .of the. fine, .yarn: being made, for, unless this ' is, the , Case.-.'the material produced .will'.either tend -to uhe've'nhess in . structure or colo.ur, or will tie - found excessively rough in: a way that ■ 'spoils the characteristic of the .finished product.' •Considerable: quantities'.of tennis cloths! are also produced, which may bo' incliuled in; this class. ■: These are of all. qualitiescrossbred, fine crossbred,-, and . fine crossbred' and botany, with .the latter predominating. .Tho great feature of these.' is thei'iv soitness.'to the .handle, and: whiteness of cdlour, and for. .this reason. wools should: be ~employed for .these, purposes which aro .of '.t'h<j better 'class . t/pe"in their, particular quality. .„i; , In, tlui- light-weight goods, hdsieiiea should be first mentioned.., Tliest take up considerable.; quantities of all' classes of from the low 32's crofsbred to : tho .'fine fit's 1 merino. ! -, The great cliaracteristic 'here is'fullness and softness; and in . the , treatment: of' these every endeavour is put forth in both preparation, combing, and spinning, to, lav the/iibre in such,a way as will give this.: 'It is, however,' impossible to - produce softness of handle unless, this characteristic (softness) is pronouncedly in "evidence.! ill- 'the wool, for it..should be observed that no yarn of .good strength can be mado without the binding influence, of twist on the fibres, nnil this lias t.he /objection-, able , feature -of . minimising softness.Therefore, : softness must! bo present to a considerable extent., :In the low hosieries, softness cannot be. so much expected for the reason that Cheap materials arerequired,- and, therefore,. straight and ooarso fibbed ones can only -be employed. Still, if any preference may; bn shown with regard to. these by buyers, the types will always' be selected for hosiery ■ purposes which show clearly-defined crimp along with whiteness of colour rather than lustre. ,- Considerable '-.blending ' of colours is done in hosiery-making in order to produce. variety ,of appearance.' , It is on account of- tliis that the material is subjected in its spun yarn state , to considerable heat and.agitation; thus "the wool should ,be strong, and fairly,, firm in fibre structure' to yield finished .yarns of marked durability. .The cashmere is :one of the most valuable products: of the fine wool -womed trade.. Tt is'u plain light-weight dress fabric that is very largely worn.' The fabric was, mado originally from the tine and - silky fibre'. material obtained , from the cashmere goats.of Thibet; in 'Northern, India, and was a fabric Tor wnicli there was such a demand that a successful attempt was made io copy: i\,in some other material. It is of considerable thinness,. and is inadd of ynrns of great nucness. At tho same time,, it must bo umiorin in structure,, arid though of ono shade only, must bo oven in colour, therefore no material must be employed which is not of a high degree of finonoss and superior' in character generally.-'• The best merino wools aro used for 'this purpose, and are very often sjiun to their quality limit. ,_ In times of'; great difficulty with prices of materials, skin wool is sometimes introduced into these ■ typos, but this must alwavs be done sparingly, otherwise the fabric will be spoiled. . VALUES VERY FIRM. This . week s business has been somewhat marred by holidays, and'wo lm'vo now entered upon a period when every week will be more or less dishu-betl bv local leasts, ivverybody welcoiiie.s the change, and it is hardlv likely that either markets or,men will.suffer on account ot tlio respito from business. Taking .ii .general survey of tho situation, there is-undoubtedly a distinctly'boiler tooling, anil the improvement previously noted -is iully maintained. Up to the eve oi t.io holidays some.fair, decent sales uf both merino and crossbred tops were nut through, nnd the market .wore u verv healthy and cheerful face. IVo camio't report any higher prices for merinos, lopmakers still-being willing sellers at .what they made a good week ago, There

scorns far moro disposition! on the part of holders t to force the pace;in crossbred* than fino wools., Jt i*> quito truu that tJiers are still somo fair weights of crossl>rcds 011 thb mul with Uit recent voraict.- of Coleman Street, very few entertain anything; but optimistic.sentiments -regarding tho future of coarso and medium wools. It ia still possible to got ■in at 14d. where a stand-up fight is in-, fiiswd upon, but the majority uf toumakers are quoting 14$ d. for 40's, and eoino havo made even more'for a superior combing. At tho eamp tinift. thou* i* natuially less doing this Week than what wo have seen. Users, are mostly well covered; they have bought sufficient tops to sco them'well on towards the end of the year, .and thus being.in a very coinfortf .j r? sl^loW > they seem prepared to await future developments It is well to know that spinners are "hard'at it/''and well supplied .'with "particulars, both for singles and two-folds. This guarantees a. big consumption of «rossbreds, and hero wo'have the sheet anchor of the w'hole industry. Directly there is any slackening in this department prices cannot but ease, but so long us , tho raw material is called for at, the present rate wo i'au_to sro how values can be miously affcctcd. A better feeling exisls in regard to Lngllsh .wools, largely the outcomo -of tho recoil firmness in Cok-man otreet. Users havo covered all their. orders, und although it is hard work . to ■"J?,, , a ,'J? rofit 011 country-bought produce, still holders arc, very. firm. -Trifle better reports aro to hand from: across the Atlantic, but it 19 hardly likely that ■ increased: purchases of either, colonial or domestic wools will bo made ju6t yet