OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1665, 4 February 1913, Page 3

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

CHARACTERISTICS OF RIVER PLATE WOOLS. 1 .(From' Our Special Correspondents.) Bradford, December 13, 1912. The" holding of the first sale of River Plato new clip wools in Liverpool this week directs attention to what is being grown in that part of tho world, and tho subject is not without some interest to readers of this issue. It h(i9 been well 'said tliat tho Kivcr-P1',46 is tho keenest competitor against' tho "wool and meats which aro being produced ii( Australasia, and, that is correct. >T have little hesitation in saying' that the Commonwealth and Now Zealand lead tho- way in the production of mutton and wool, although tho Argentine is u close competitor. I havo a strong impression that tho Aigen-tino-will never outstrip our colonial cousins in producing the highest quality of mutton and wool, providing pastoralists Jlay duo regard to those principle's ■of breeding which bring fairly reliable results. When all is said and done, Australia and Now Zealand possess a climate somewhat more salubrious than tho Argentine, although that of the latter is certainly'good. Tho pasturago seems to vary somewhat more than that of Australasia,, and olimato and pasturage are two important factors in i producing satis--factory results. At the'same time, the work which Argentina sheep men aro doing is certainly of no mean order, and their achievements will stand careful inspection. There have been great changes in tho sheep and wool world of the Argentine (luring the past few years, and it can bo said that its pastoralists have gone in for producing meat, somewhat at tho expense of wool. No doubt many firms are trying to combine a good carcass and fleece, but tho methods employed, particularly in the get-up of tho staple, aro hot anything liko so up-to-date and smart as in Australia and Now Zealand. There is room here.for a vast improvement, for the bulk of'the •River Plate clip comes to market just as it is taken off the sheep's back,'a. lino of action which meets with no favour at the hands -of wool buyers. Looking more minutely at the wool grown in South America, tho Argentine naturally claims premier attention. It has always been a country that depastured of sheep, and tho whole of European manufacturers are grateful for the ;raw material ; which is coming from that part' of the world. As already said, the wool has vastly changed both.in quality and character during the past 23 years. In the 1 past days it presented a very sorry i-pectaclo; old Wool buyers living to-day refer to-the timo when fairly big weights were sold in Liverpool and London, which 'offered a sharp contrast" to tho wools from Australia. Since then there has'- certainly been a great change, tho wools having improved considerably.; In the old days merinos very largely predominated, just the);same as they did in New Zealand. Tho incoming of the "freezer" and the introduction ~bf such methods as enable the sheep to bo killed and landed in. London and Liverpool in a good oon- | suniahle condition, has been : the prime .factor,in bringing about the change which has been wrought in the character.of the River Plate'flocks;- Wo'havo no-par'ticu--lara showing what percentage of merino and crossbred are being kept in the River "Plate, but should say roughly that-75 per cent, will to-day be crossbreds,, and tho remainder merinos and other breeds. This great change is entirely due to the transformation which has come over, tho ox,port trade in:frozen'meat. , Pastoralists have seen the wisdom of converting their merino (locks into. crossbreds, thus keeping, a larger' animal more fitted to the requirements of the frozen mutton industry. No sensible man-can grumble at this reform, although it would.be a pity if pastoralists iu Australia adopted the same | methods, and turned their-merino flocks into crossbreds. Practically speaking, tho world's supply of wool from tho chief /countries "down tinder" consists of about '57 per cent, of merino and 43 per cent, of I crossbreds, hence it looks as if supplies are nearly/- evenly divided. In producing tho great change in the flocks of the the Lincoln has been more employed than any other breed of mutton sheep., Seine ;few' years .back the demand amounted to nothing less than a boom, and' very big prices indeed were paid, Lincoln, ram from tho wellknown flock of the late Mr. Henry Dudding, we believe, fetching as high as 1500 guinea's. It, was a common thing to see- 1 up to 500 -guineas-paid for Lincoln rams of first-class character, but during the past year or two there has been tho usual slump, and to-day nothing like the high prices aro being paid which English stud stock breeders-would like to seo. The fact is, tho flood tido has passed,- the whole industry Jias now-got down to what may be- : called noi mal business- conditions, and while good trade is still done with Argentine pastoralists in English pedigree stock, abnormal prices are no longer forthcoming, nor likely to be. The employment of;such a big quantity, of Lincoln blood has worked a great transformation in the flocks of tho River Plate, and to-day crossbred wools from that State are certainly 1 somewhat lower in quality than the bulk of New Zealand wools. We think circumstances justify us in saying that a buyer could find far greater weights of 3G's to 40's wooMri tho River Plate than he could in New Zealand, all due to tho system of breeding 'which is. in vogue. Perhaps we hear less about it, but the fact remains'that River Plate pastoralists seem most concerned about growing a fairly big sheep, and appear to.be content to-gd on accepting current prices, and producing sheep and wool after their own heart.

It must be said to the credit of Argentine pastoralists that the character,of the crossbred wools grown to-day is a vast improvement on even a dozen years ago. No doubt the breeds have .become moro acclimatised, and tho importation of large quantities of English pedigree stock .has certainly left its mark upon them. All buyers alike say that the wools have vastly improved, and satisfaction is expressed that this is. so. If there had been the same improvement in the get-up and ofr fcrihg of the La Plate wools as there has in tho breeding, this would be still moro acceptable to buyers, but this : improvement may come in time. No one with'any knowledge of how business is in Australia or London can' appreciate the method of purchasing in Buenos Ayres, for the wool as a rule is offered in bulk, and the buyer has, to mako his own estimate of ; the "clean 1 yield,"'tho heavy skirt being sold along with the entire fleece. It is hero wo say that objection can be raised against tho River Plate clip. Still, buyers know their trade, they get used to it, it bbing tho improved manufacturing 'properties of the wool which givo the most satisfaction. , / In the old days there was a good deal of prejudice against .what is kuoivn in the trade as B.A. wool, but every year finds that prejudice declining; No doubt River Plato wools spin and produce cloth somewhat harsher in handle than tho wools of Australia or New Zealand, but big quantities aro now bought by English buyers to blend with similar qualities grown in Australasia. Spinners say that these top 3 produce satisfactory yarns, and no doubt a developing business is being done with England in these wools. At tho same time the bulk of the River Plate clip is still bought by France and Germany. Its spinners and manufacturers have manipulated these wools now for a good number of years, they know their good properties, and naturally aro turning \hera N to the best account possible. It is nevertheless in order to say hero that increasing interest is being shown.by West Riding spinners'and. manufacturers in River Plate wooU, many firms sending their own buyers to Buenos Ayres for tho season, and. as time goes on, still larger weights' will bo used in Bradford and district.

MEEINOS BARELY STEADY. Turning to wool markets, tlio past week has really shown no now development, everything taking on to s'omo extent a holiday appearance. Tho fact is, everything now appears to 'have reached tho maximum for tho time being and there is nothing to indicate that we are going to soo -higher values until tho futuro appears a little clearer. It should bo borne in mind that 2s. 5Jd. has novor been realised, houce the easo of }d. to Id. is not in tho least serious. If topmnkors have secured somewhat cheaper wool, they arn justified in taking a fraction less, but otherwise there is nothing important in connection with the market. Consumption remains undiminished, mid no doubt with the end of tho year drawing nigh the easo is fully justified. Crossbreds aro very firm, in a large measure due to tho strong overseas advices. All this is having its elicet Miioii topriiokcrs, who nro firmly quoting )sjd. to ICd. for dO's prepared tons, but business, js W no senso active,