YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1002, 17 December 1910, Page 14

YORKSHIRE LETTER.

FAULTY WOOLS-PRICES THE TURN ' ' DEARER.

(From Our Spccial Correspondent.) ! Bradford, November i, 1910. : The character of another Australian clip is an item which affects directly the piitire wool trade, and to ho told that-it is somewhat deiicient in growth is not a welcomo announcement to the manufacturers of the world. I suppose if growers could always .have their own way there would never bo anything but satisfactory wool, but- so many things operate in determining the growth.of a fleece that it is really beyond the power of_ any man to say definitely' whul thu clip is going to be until, it is actually shorn. News is to hand this week from New South Wales that faulty, wool is much in evidence, at least the staple is short, and there is more burr, and wastj* matter than was the case last season. The fact "of thero being more vegetable matter may be taken as a proof that vegetation has been good, otherwise there would not have been the luxuriant growth to produco more burr, seed and sniv. One observes an. absence of complaint as to the earthy nature of the clip, while the shorter stable is no doubt duo to an earlier shearing. • Present prices being ssto t satisfactory growers naturally are manifesting a desire to: realise, and unless I am mistaken* - thefo is going to bo more autumn ; and 1 early spring shearing in Australia thari-wu. havo hitherto seen. It is-a!, well-known fact that from June to September. there; is always less wool confronting the/trade than at any other period of . the year, consequently those who can place their clips on tho market-'between that period, stand to gain more than lose by an early shearing. However, it is . faulty wools about which I want to write today. No matter how'good a season may. have been,'there' is'more ,or less faulty •wool available, and this cannot be taken and cast out on to the dunghill as was tho case early in the last century. Even faulty wools have their uses in the textile ! world, but all the same, it would be a very bad job if there was not grown something better to use than with,

LESS PRICES FOE FAULTY DESCRIP- ' TIONS. No reader need be told that faulty wools never realise as good - prices as do the wools of better growth and staplo. Iho. reason ia that- they do not possess tho.same sound manufacturing properties, hence nobody can afford to pay such satisfactory rates This is.seen to day in Australia. where'we are told such produce is not selling as well as wools of sound growth, and. good", length. The fact is thero. is more ■ satisfaction to be derived in every department that wool goes through when it : is sound to'begin with. Those whq have no practical knowledge of mill lif6 know, little of the strain a delicate fibre is subjected, to as it passes through the various manufacturing processes. It no sooner enters the scouring machine than ,1® knocked about and worked upon until it leaves the finishing department,' and the severe treatment that it under-goes-necessitates a, sound staple, and if it is deficient in .this. ; particular then m>necessary waste is certa'in ,to follow. Deficient raw material; can never produce a satisfactory .manufactured, article. That is admitted by everyone, 'no matter whetner .a person, is seeking to produce a woollen or worsted ,fabriq. As I have already said, : increased ..waste is always seen when wool ..is .deficient either in length or strength, arid buyers at the 1 time of purchasing, havo to take this importanfc matter into consideration. • Suppose .now a man is valuing merinos. Tho lot of wool he sees is short, and the staple badly grown. The quality, may be right, but if thero is a wan't of length' and soundness of staple, then the buyer knows tiiat it will have to go to a' secondary purpose, winch means a less price for the combed and manufactured article. There is sothmg worse in merino wools than a short-grown staple if the raw material is destined for combing purposes. Everv maker of standard tops produces several qualities, each one varying,in one' or two important particulars. For instance, several .firms 111 Bradford produce what they call an ordinary 60's and. a super GO's. f '™s produce two qualities of eveii' super 60 s, and two qualities of Bi's.' Tba' quahty in. tho two tops varies very little indeed,, if any, the difference being ' entirely in the length. This always means a_ difference of at least id. per lb., hnd oftentimes more. . Any, spinner will, tell, you that _he cannot obtain the same 1 tynount of yarn out of n short ton that he can out of one, say, of average length, and some topmakers pass by altogether wool that is deficient in this particular. Hence tho reader will see how importantit is that, merino wools be as well grown as they possibly; caiy for, a .want of'lengthmeans that.' the .wool nilist he put- to . a secondary purpose,, or elso, taken ; , essentially for the woollen trade;., ' - I '-' ,

dry feed and its effect. wL ate i y l'\ a ,? e ,' had seve r al 'letters from New Soiuh Wales pastoralists complaining of the deficient rainfall which they experienced during ■ last- year, and while they soy they had sufficient feed for their sheep, yet iis was mostly - dry. Even tiling a sheep's stomach with food of tiiat. nature is no guarantee that the growing _ floeco will bs as satisfactory as one desires., Ono authority states, that , a fair proportion of tho wool sold in Sydney during October lacked life and vitality, this really being the outcome of the .dry feed. The growing fleece on a I ?. es a demand upon the recourcesof. that animal, and unless naturo supplies'sheep with sufficient food to maintam itself in a fair degree of good health, then its., appendage,. if I may usesuch a term, is bound ,to somewhat suffer.. Any close, student. of a -leece of wool knows that - every fibre possesses a certain, amount -of .life/ vitality,. ".nd elasticity, .and-:if it is not. there : then' the lieec.-)'wiil handio dry, harsh, and somewhat brittle. This is certainly a veryibad fault, and always leads to the staple .being more or less tender. I have oftentimes been surprised with. Queensland : greasy wool showing this characteristic, when. X havo known/all through the year the flock has been on a good green pasture. 1 The reason why "Queensland wool is so often lacking in lifo and vitality is a mystery to many people, and I. rather fancy it is through somo geological, cause, it being a well-known. fact that . when sheep ara run upon chalk) soils tile fleece is always more or less dry., and-.harsh in handle. Dry feed produces tho same effect, but a sufficiency of that forage is infinitely better, than a scarcity,' for when sheep aro on- short commons, the fleece is always worse than when they aro fed upon dry grass. DEALING WITH VEGETABLE ; MATTER, Tho , question of tho presence of seed, burr, and shiv in wool is'an item which gives satisfaction to no one, but this ran bo , dealt with nowadays far more expeditiously than a good dozen years ago. At the same time tho less burr, there is tho better. I know several important wool-buyers who will not purchase a bale that is burry or seedy, simply because .for their special purposes they must have 'wool entirely free from vegetable matter.' Whenever wool is carbonised, it inoro or less suffers in tensile strength, and frequently . tho colour goes, especially if tho sulphuric acid used is not employed with great discretion. The reader can seo that if wool is tender to begin with and there is present a lot of vegetable matter, then by carbonising tho same it' only still furthor weakens the staple, and so depreciates the value. This fact has always to be watched, and fortunate is the man who can extract seed and burr from wool, without resorting to a use of chemicals. I think some day it will bo done, and the sooner tho better. The lesson which tho above teaches .woolgrowers is plain, namely, that tho more 'perfect they can produce' a fleeco of material, the better it will bo for everybody. Good wool always sells best, aud whether it be merino or crossbred the. more sound the staple, combined with a good reasonable length, the. keener will he tho competition.

BRADFORD A TRIPLE BETTER. : This week conditions in Bradford have shown a slight improvement, at leapt tlie upward' tendency of values abroad has had tho effect of causing 6pinners to buy a little more freely, but it is really hard work to obtain more money. There is practically a penny difference betweon tho prico of morino tops for "spot" .and "future," but it is more difficult to buy at 2s. 3d., for G4's; in fact, soma of our biggest finis will not accept, less than 2s.

3jd. A good many people are nonplussed with tlio latest turn of events, and for their very, lives they cannot nnderst.-md why prices should rise at' all.' The crux of tho whole question to my mind lies in tho unparailekd consumption, which is. still proceeding. AVe are being repeatedly told that mills in Germany are quieter, and it is, therefore, hard to reconcile these statements with their present activo buying in Australia. German firms would not he operating "as they are for the fun of it, and buyers must require the wool, otherwise they will lose heavily. Dear money and rising wool values in , face of a record clip aTe certainly an anomoiy, but without doubt the actual, needs of the -trade dictate the price of the raw material. I do not think Yorkshire manufacturers are as busy as they were on home trade account, but without doubt there is a big export demand,. and the markets abroad are-in no sense overstocked. It is my firm belief . that if prices would only settle 'down', on a level where all users have confidence, then we should go steadily on : . and. enjoy .another good year's trade. ■ /