YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1427, 30 April 1912, Page 6

YORKSHIRE LETTER.

POINTS TO OBSERVE IN.-JBXAMININtf A FLKECjJ.

(From Car Suede,! OorresnondenU

Bradford, March 15, 1912. I havo just had the delightful experi. once of examining several simples of wool sent to mo liv Mr. Robert Clarke, BoliudaVale, Victoria (the property is owned bvSir AV. J. Clarke), and when 1 say tiiat this enssbred clip letches the highest price of any in tho world, it will bo seen at once that tho samples havo not come from an ordinary pastoralist. Included in tho parcel there'are several Leicester 'samples from sheep that took the champion and first and'second awards at tho last Melbourno Koyal Show, and which are grown by Mr. J. A. Cochrane, Aitkensidc, Seres, Victoria, and tho same also contained .amnios from tho Cobrau Station, near . Deiiiiiquin, New South Wales. Nothing delights me more than to inspect some really good wool, and I havo repeatedly said that tho finest picture gallery 1 ever sets is a display of 18,000 bales of wool set out in the wool warehouses of London. If that is not sufficient to stir to tho very foundation the nature of any woolman, then I do not know what is. It seems to mo that every timo a man goes round valuing ho can learn something, and if ho puts on his "studying cap" ho can observe something new which is sufficient to set him thinking on tho possibilities of tho wool trade in general. Tho samples referred to arc just about as perfect as any man can expect to see if ho lives to bo at

old as Methusnlnn, and I really cannoi sco that it is possible for Australian pas' toralists to improvo thoir sheep stocki very much further. Thcro is no doubi that rapid progress has been made during the past 25 years in all breeds sf sheep, and in merinos, tho pure English breeds and the crossbreds, there is to-day being produced a class of animal and a wealth rf wo il which would surprise our great-grandfathers. Even old men connected with the wool trade sometimes wax eloquent on the changed character of wool supplies. Tho writer himself well romombors that when he first attended the London wool sales erossbreds wera vorv scarce, whereas to-day there are certain series of tho year when they, monopjliso tho catalogues. EXAMINING WOOL.

Whilst looking over tho abovo samplesi and wondering what to write about, the thought naturally aroso that there is an art in examining wool. Just the saino.as in looking over a pen of sheep. Various ideas developed in ui'y mind as I inspected tho samples, and naturally tho lirst essential in a good fleece of wool is quality. It is a wellknown fact that tho more uniform a flecco of wool is, tho greater its value. A man can liavo length and strength oi 6taple, good condition and a nice handle, but if there is not quality, one of the most essential points is wanting. Some people use tho term quality in an altogether erroneous sonse. The name is Used m tho wool trade as signifying tho 6pin. ning count of wool, and quality should never be confounded with condition. I have heard many people say that a clip

was of good quality when they meant it was in good order and condition. A grower should always endeavour to produce a satisfactory standard of quality, and what a multiplication of qualities has teen going on during recent years! Tho time was when for anything below GO'S tho spinner was compelled to go to English wools, but to-day a man can obtain anything from 30's to 10's in colonial wools. This is ono of the results of the great development in tho frozen meat industry, and to-day New Zealand, Tasmania, and Victoria aro all furnishing us with somo splendid lines of crossbred wools from 36" s to 58's quality. Let the reader always bear in mind that quality stands as tho first essential in every llcoca of wool, and that any luck in this pnrticu. lar cannot be atoned for by tho presence of other characteristics. I made soma remarks recently on tho of the standard of morinos by pnstornfists in Australia, and must say that thero appear to bo ninny who aro doing their utmost to evolve a class of sheep which will prov6 to be;'above everything else "halo fillers." No doubt pastoralists aro justified in conducting their business on proper liu,es, and no reasonable complaints can bo Of-

fered'against them making their busincs pay and securing as good returns as art mado from any other commercial calling, but I do say with all seriousness that it will be a huge mistake for anyone to run too much in tho direction of woight without paying due regard to quality, and I make a strong plea for tho maintenance of this essential. LENGTH OF STAPLE. Another characteristic which is always ' to bo found in good fleeces of wool is lcngtli of staple. I am glad that the importance of this feature is being fully realised by all wool growers, but there is no doubt that breed and season play an ■ important part ,iu determining the length of tho staple. It is impossible for a grower to estimate tho value, of length as well as a topmaker, a. spinner, or a manufacturer. A good length of staple-means a greater weight of wool from the sheep, which all tells its talo when the clip comes to be sold, but with- \ out a decent length it is impossible to comb and spin a good yarn, and unless you have the latter, a satisfactory fabric cannot bo made. For tho reader to understand clearly the value of length of staple he needs to go carefully through the combing and spinning operations, when ho would soon find that trouble mid loss is involved in attempting to comb and spin wool that is too short. In order to drive homo the importance of this characteristic, I will use a simple illustration. If the reader will put together, say, half a dozen fibres which have been clipped from tho head of a woman with long hair, and then put together and twist some which havo been cut from tho

head of a man, ho will find that by twisting the two sets separately he will have a much longer and stronger strand of liair'from tho former than from tho latter. It is on exactly the same principle that satisfactory wool spinning is conducted, and a good long staple in a (leeco is a very valuable and important point. I am glad to' see that on various hands growers are appreciating this characteristic, and buyers will always prefer a nice length to a short grown, stumpy slaplo of wool. In connection with tho above, a special word of adv::c» might bo given to the pastoralists of Souh Africa, where shearing twice a yoar still largely holds sway. In many casc.i financial considerations may enter into the matter, but I could never yet sea tho wisdom of shearing merino sheep every six months, and there is no other country in tho world whero six months' shearing is practised. Sonw contend that the returns per head aro bettor than when shearing is dono every twelve months, but upon that point I am unable to pronounce n reliable verdict. Howver, I am glad to say that tho most up-to-date farmers arte sliearing every twelve months, and tho sooner all others follow suit the better it will bo for tho trade. All six months' shorn wools have a very limited demand, and they are used only for clothing purposes, which means that they are not so much called for as combed wools.

MARKET CONDITIONS.

I am at a loss what (o say about the market,, for tho coal striko dominates everything. It would bo quito easy to write a report if the trade only know what was going; to happen, and how long tho present differences between mine-own-ers and their men wore going to last. An I write this, there is no announcement of a definite settlement, though possibly before this letter is posted (he good news may bo forthcoming. All I can say is, that in consuming centres the sifuation remains unchanged. Naturally, tho week's business has been distinctly less in volume that when I last wrote, hut. prices are no weaker. _ That is one of the most surprising things about tho whole market. It is remarkable that when tho trade of the wTiole country is paralysed, wool values should remain eteady and intact. Various views are. held 'inspecting the outlook. Some are making the most out of the belief that the purchasing power of the public is being so crippled that it mcons a bad summer's trade.

Apropos of. a recent sale of Corot pictures in Paris, At which "The Woman With tho Pearl" brought XCOOO, M. Henri Roehofoijt says that Corot one* said to him, on a visit to the artist's studio in the eardly days before ho wasi appreciated, pointing to his canvases, "Take, as nianv of those things home as you like , That stuff does not sell." Perhaps Corot meant, merely to lend his pictures to his friend, as ono who could call attention to them. Artists are not prone to give awaj their best work.