OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 954, 22 October 1910, Page 15

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

-GETTING NEW WOOL READY FOR MARKET. EXCELLENT CONDITIONS CONTINUE. (Prcm Our Special Correspondent.) : ( . Bradford, September 9, 1910. Although wool prices are high, yet no •grower can afford to ignore the preparation of his clip for market, for buyers are showing'greater prefcrenco than ever for well-classed wools. Many, fears aro expressed that owing to the breaking up of large stations, and tho multiplication of little- clips, owners will not show the caro .that wo. have been accustomed•• to seeing\in the methods of preparing the big clips, for market, and it is to be hoped that' tho man with a thousand sheep will work,. and will be particular, as to how ho prepares his fleeces for market. : I say emphatically that it does, pay to properly get up a clip, and when there is on the 'surface carelessness shown, the value of that wool,will alw.iys suffer. No man 19 going; to pay for care-, lessness, and f would emphasise this fact upon both little and big growers alike.. The reader can see that with the multiplication of small clips the work'of buyers is going to be further increased, and all alike agree that it is already heavy ■enough. It:is very plain to be seen-that , a clip which'at first sight appears to 'be smart and well got.up, will at once receive the full,, attention, of a buyer. Iwhen valuing, and he will look carefully at the! wool without placing on same: a "sporting" valuation, whereas if. a clip appears wanting, and there is b. mixture' of bellies and pieces along with the combing wool, it will only be valued at a price which is inharmony with the allowance which must afterwards.be made for. such wool. ."There can' bo ;no''deceiving a buyer on this head, for he knows that there always arises contingencies such as increased shrinkage, on all clips where the heavier parts have been .rolled .in with the good combing wool. If a farmer has. only 500 fleeces the bellies and britch should be; removed; and these sold separately, and this I would strongly impress upon readers of this issue. These remarks apply to every grower, whether he be running merinos or crossbreds, for in/ any case there is' a marked difference in the'pi'ice of combing, and, say, bellies. I have come to: the conclusion .years ago. that a:grower realises to the very fullest extend the .value of his wool' when, he carefully sorts his fleeces' and sells each description separately; ■ Not only has he the satisfaction of having.. done a fair thing to the man who has bought tho wool, but he establishes confidence iii'tho"eyes' of thev/buyer, and that of itself is: a very valuable asset. A man who chuckles because ihe. may have done what ho thinks is 'a smart thing when he gets off hisolip mixed-; with the bellies at "the price of combing has only sown the seeds for future disaster,..for that- buyer, will, be aware; next.'■• season',' ...and ; he .' will iwarii others on the day of valuation, <ahdit'is surprising how a story set going in a wool. warehouse travels: round to .all'the buyers. Therefore I say honesty is still tho best polio}', and a clip well prepared' for market always brings due reivard. I am satisfied that no grower will have cause to_ regret 'at any■■ itime .the careful preparation, for market which the smallZest. clip'deserves, and it is to bo hoped that, the increase of small clips will, also bring with it that thoroughness of work which cannot but be appreciated' by all members of the trade. In ,face of an unparalleled clip it sounds, to sense, that , buyers : will 'have. • the 'opportunity . given, them of .making a more free choice of the wool" they require,, and in . a time, of, plenty they are certain' to be more particular than when -there is'V short clip and a. good trade.'. : Therefor^-I/say, let care, be taken in the' handling of new fleeces; for: good'work will.be rewarded with a commensurate good price.. '.- ::.

I MERINOS' AS:- SOUND AS EVER?;' .■ ;I 'do :not; know that there has been' much the'.piisf ditldhs/being' very similar to' what' I stated, in my last communication. One market day resembles another very much, and there-is .among users an air of-con-tentment which is the direct result of all alike having plenty to do. Business is good, _and that is the long and short of it;' There is th 6 same, active inquiry for wool, and.it .is now already a foregone conclusion.that even, merinos will bo fractionally dearer nest series in London,' whileinhere is'no. telling what the rise will be in orossbreds. Commission woolcq'rabers remain fairly. busy/ : 'aiid.that isan indication that' there'' is still' available some-good' weights; of raw material. .Of course, there is hardly that extreme, pressure that' we have 6een. earlier.-,in.-. tne' : season,but>in past yeare-during July to ! the end of'the--year there has always been a fair number of woolsorters with nothing to ! do, whereas to-day very few indeed are idle. It is "still.possible to 'pickup an : average C 4's top at 2s. sd.,.but they cannot be bought as freely as they could a fortnight ago, many now asking 2s. s|d. ■ At the saruo time, we' have several of our leading topmakers quoting no more than they were, two weeks ago, and on their... part there is no. desire to see a higher range of quotations; Naturally thbir mind is runniug i towards "having"-, to buy raw wool in Australia, and' they know that the higher quotations are here, the dearer will the wool bo in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. This is indicative- of "a little, concern■.on I ;.the part of importers -respecting', the coming season,, and all alike are recognising that to.say the least wooKis on a dangerous level. Still there has been all through the season a complete absence of speculation, and the past seasons' prices havo been dictated by" consumption. In this respect there is" a '■very .-big •difference'- : to what, we saw: in 1899, when users* everywhere believed there was going to bo a huge shortage! and when, as an actual fact, stocks of wool in manufacturers' hands wero heavy. Conditions to-day, -however, are totally different .to .what they were then, ;and although the trade'is having to face a bigger weight of raw material than ever, yet there exists no stocks here, and'the world s wants are certainly larger. .'»'-. Recently there has been some fair big quantities of Mazamet' skin wools .sold among Bradford topmakers, and there is certainly less prejudice against these than formerly. I hear that stocks at the Irench,centre-'are distinctly lighter than they have been all through the season, and }t is not' to be wondered at considering the heavy quantities which have been sold during the past eight months. 1 have in this week the annual statement of the trade of the United Kingdom with foreign, countries for last year, and have just turned to our imports of wool from France to seo the extent of the trade done in this article during the past few years. It is a well-known fact that practically the whole of our French wool imports come from,Mazamet, and below I show the quantity and value taken from our neighbours aci'oss the English Channel during recent -years:—.. , ■ ■.■ . ; Quantity. ... '.-Value." Year. . Lbs. £ 1905 19,802,877 . ; 825,508 190G 20,759,930 ' 945,162 1907 24,451,909 1,187,135 1908 17,406,010 994,893 1009 ■.'. 26-,95C,G77 1.50G.593

■. CROSSBREDS VERY FIRM. ;! ■ . Crossbreds are .very similar to what they- ivero last ivcek, and there is little change to nolo. Business continues to be fairly good, although there is hardly that activity scon a week ago. I do not think many topmakers care' a great deal about selling any further weights, because in the majority'of cases they have sold for some considerable timn to como as ranch as tlioy can deliver. I hear of some important wool- transactions with London brokers for tho raw material at sonsiblo advances on. what was paid at the last series of sales, and it is now a certainty that wool which was bought in New Zealand last December, January, and February, and upon which it has been impossible to make a profit during tho last threo scries of sales, will bo submitted at tho and of tho month, when it is l almost certain tho owners will get put, but possibly without much profit, if any. As a rule, declines are much larger than advances, and when there is a fall,, it oftentimes means a 'heavier shrinkage than what appears upon paper. Howovor, the outlook, so far as crossbreds are concerned, for the forthcoming London sales is particularly-bright, and tlioro is.certain to bo a sensible advance upon all descriptions, particularly medium and course.