YORKSHIRE WOOL LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1560, 2 October 1912, Page 4

YORKSHIRE WOOL LETTER.

WOOL .SAJIPLES. (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, August 23, 1912. I hnvo'jitet liiwn tanking nt some forly,six sniniiliM <il' wool whicli luivi; kPcn on for me to famine, stnudurdiso, uixl rci>cort upon. These, .-'uinplvj huve come from a well-known A'ew /rnlaml breeder, ami its they range from 3li'.s (o 80'*, the work lias, k'tn considcrablv, jet very ph'uih iint. This brings' before us the ini|ii>rtani;e of every grower possessini! a clear knon-lc(l|;e of what- "quallly" in wool is, and to be able to slandnhlise for himself most of the wools which tome uikUt his ob.-ervation. 1 am .sorry to say that even some sellers of niw materiel hove little knowledge of what the lot they may be handling runs out to, and can give the grower little relinblo information* reflecting the (jualily. I am glad to see tliat throughout the whole of Australasia and South Africa there is a great longing for information, regarding the wool trade in all its branches, this b?ing a good augury for tho future. Home weeks ago 1 purchased, nu old copy.of '''The History of Aew .South .Wales," printed in the year 1820, the perusal of which has formed very interesting reading. It contain!) a li? 1; of tho first sheep importation into New Smith Wales,.and when one contrasts Hie character of the wool grown to-day with that of a hundred years ago, it. can be seen that there lias b:en ft gTeat improvement. Whnt else can lw expected ? There is no doubt that Australian pastoralisrs have been very progressive, nature nlfj favouring their enterprise, and there is lo doubt that the Commonwealth stands to' day in the very foremost position as a grower of good merino wools. I can conceive of no finer collection that any man can possess than a representative* fleece from all tho different wool-growing areas of Australia. There is certainly mucli room for investigation 'as well as education, but tho samples of wool which are m the writer's possession, ranging over the past hundred years of Australian pastoral life, show a great advance which has already been made. Some of the clips which are familiar to all buyers attemliny the sales in Australia, as well as London, have undergone a complete transformation during tho past twenty-five years, all due to tho present desire on the part of pastoralists to grow wools somewhat deeper and longer in staple. I have just put down as 80 K quality clothing wool which is ovcly in character, and shows splendid i breeding, but that class of wool is now , fast disappearing from the ' Commonwealth, the bulk of the wools grown today ranging between CO's and 70's. This is an ordinary typs of raw material, and no doubt serves for the bulk of the trado ; that is being done throughout manufacturing areas of' Europe and America, hut it will be a great pity if the superfine merino becomes extinct. I am rather inclined to think that as time goes on, sheep-growing from 80's to 100's quality will command higher prices than they are doing to-day, and it is to be hoped that these sheep will remain a lending asset on many properties in New South Wales and Queensland. ■ I cannot see that Victoria, South Australia, or Western Australia will ever produce superfine merinos. No doubt the' south-eastern portion of South Australia is ouiie capable of doing so. although the fibre will lv> somewhat different in tssti'ire from that grown in certain parts of New South Wales and Queensland. There '= m> doubt that climnfc and pasturage play an important part in determining the quality of'the ■wool, and notwithstanding the use of good M's deep-stapled rams, Queensland pastoralists find that the fibro returns to the old standard type of 70's.

GOOD WOriT, A TffiLIGHT TO . HANDLE. , What a pleasure there is in handling a bit of good wool! It creates a pleasant feeling which' to a real wool man is tho height of -felicity, and when one looks' through thirty or forty different samples, one can see immediately a great difference, iu the quality, character, build, texture,. and handle of tho various'staples. .1 am well aware that the season plays an important part in determining these; :char-o acteristicj. It is a well-known? fact 'thatw a clip of wool grown in a drought season often.possesses a fineness of quality which can only bo called, leaii, but when ■•thV sheep which have produced it arc. kept on good pastures from shearing .to'shearing the 'quality will be at least , three" or four points coarser, and there will bo more vitality in the-staple, as well. as. more length and- condition. ■• The reader will therefore* see the difficulties wool'buyers labour under when estimating the quality and clean yield of Uie wool which they are examining and valuing. It will bo understood also that the consideration of the purpose for which it is in.tended, does not minimise this difficulty, quality and other characteristics already mentioned, going a long way to influenco the decision for or against the material. This is easily explained. Many a grower wonders why his neighbour obtains, say, -}d. per lb. more for his clip than he idoes himself; for ho can see no difference in the two lots. That is easily explained. ,A buyer can - sometimes see more in ti 'certain clip of wool than in other grown in the same district, the explanation being that a little lighter condition, a (Treat length of staple, and o somewhat 'softer handle all count in determining what it is worth. It is certainly-of greateducational value, for every pastoralist and user to see- as many samples of wool as ho possibly can, and to compare tho different features which ■ they exhibit. Some wools ere suited for one purpose,, others-for another, and this fact plays an important part in determining their market price. The samples to which I have already referred vary as much as 3d.- per lb. in tho merinos alone, while the crossbrcds can easily vary up to 3d. I makn ;fhe'suggestion that both growers- and. .users might do fur worse than make a representative selection of the wools which j are being grown throughout the world. Those who do so will have a means of education such as they can obtain from ino other source. ; MARKING TIME. The situation in the wool world shows practically no change compared with a ;week ago. Recent cable news has been to :tho effect.that '.he American Senate has. {'refused to pass the La .Toilette Bill sent • up by the House of Representatives, and 'which President Taft vetoed, this putting out of.court entirely the possibility of any change in "Schedule K" across the Atlantic. American users and importers ■will now be able to pursue the even tenor of their course without being afraid that what they buy abroad will bo interfered with by the introduction of lower duties. Those in this country who are best informed on the subject are of the opinion that there will be no alteration in- the American tariff for another twelve months, many anticipating that buyers will' operate more largely in Australian markets during the forthcoming season than they havo done for the past three years. The American textile industry is renewing its youth,' and mills are very busy. These are most satisfactory features, and topmakers, spinners, and mami-. .facturers throughout the West Hiding are shaping their programme accordingly. They believe that wool is not, going to be very much , cheaper in Australia than it is to-day, for consumption is still tremendous, and likely to continue so. During recent weeks no noteworthy alteration has been seen in the market in Worstcdopolis, which is largely dominated by holiday influences. All the same a nice ■ steady business continues ♦<i be done, sufficient to relievo things,from stagnation. There is a nice tfade doing in raw wool; in fact, the outBlandins feature of this month has been j the activity seen in this section of tho' market. Crossbreds largely iuunopoli-:e the situation, and orders . are in the hands of several firms for c.u:ed New Zealand fleeces as weir as English wools. It. will bo remembered that.thu shipments from the Bradford Consular district to the United States for June and July were very considerable, and showed large increases compared with any month during the past two years. These increased shipments are likely to be continued, the present month being characterised by a good deal of activity. The result is that tops are all firm, and topmakers appear to be in a soinewlmt stronger position than they were even at tht> close of (he last series of London sales. A nice steady business is proceeding, even in tops, and tho selling price of average G2's is still 'is. 3d. HUDDERSHELD TIUDI-;. It is always wise wheji reviewing the standing, of wool and textiles to take a broader view than the conditions which obtain in a jingle market like Vrndford, ond.it ia some eatisf action to be Able, to

state, that throughout. the. \\>t: Riding very satisfactory manufacturing conditions still obtain. Tire ino-t. .'•prions fenturo is undoubtedly Iho exceedingly wet summer iiiid unseasonable weather which still prevails, otherwise there would bo nothing to cnu>3 any misgivings over the future of the textile trade. Prospects throughout; Europe arc very satisfactory so far us harvests an- concerned, provided Old Sol would only shine out more hravoly. A good deal of rain has fallen throughout the Continent during the past three months, and there, too, an absence of sunshine, is causing n little uneasiness .in some riuarlers." Still, harvest time has npver yet failed, and we beiieve that the crop? of the earth both at Home and abroad, will be safely garnered as usual. This week brings us a very interesting letter from a leading firm of Hnddersfiold manufacturers engaged in the production of first-class woollens anil worsteds. They say:—"Trade keeps good in every brunch, and we sco no signs of slackening. Merchants are now sending their spring eoniinnatious. in the better class worsteds, nnd there is no fulling off compared with last year. The hardening of prices for raw material, and the prospect, of no relief in 1 Suit direction for some time to come, will tend, to moke the merchants , nnd clothiers more confident than they would be if there was a big supply of wool and a prospect of lower values." That is a very suggestive way of epitomising manufacturing conditions in the Huddorsfield district.