YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2231, 18 August 1914, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

PRICE OF WOOL 100 YEARS AGO

AN OLD-TIME RECORD

(From Our Special Correspondents.)

Bradford. A feir days ago the writer came across th,o only agricultural journal that was 1 being published in London ini the year ; 181 d. It is a, most interesting compilation, and for tlio prico of. a few coppers' we have been- able to secure this old yet rich record, of the stato of agriculture exactly one hundred 5-ears ago. We havo turned to the price of wool at that time, and the record abounds with items of real interest to those who follow the course of the raw material. One hundred years ago. the Australian .wool trade was in its infancy, and' it would be most interesting to know what quantity of wool was imported into Great Britain in the year 1814. It was all about 1811 when the first rams irere sent out to Australia from the King: George 111. importation, the salo takinjg place at Kew Gardens in .that year, .'Captain John Macarthur purchasing a few .sheep. At that time Yorkshire, Wa|)t of England, and Norfolk manufacturers' were entirely dependent upon ' Spanish and German merino' wool for supplying. them with the product. We hope some day to go thoroughly into this question, for there is a wealth of information, to be obtained. From 1815 to 1827 Australian merinos began to pour into England, not in any great volume compared with to-day's import, but at that time the' few thousand bales which wore sent over annually looked big in the eyes of the British wool growers.-' How greatly the thing has grown since 1814. We are convinced that neither Captain John Macarthur, Sir Joseph Banks nor Samuel Marsden foresaw the dimenrfons to which the colonial wool trade would grow, and they had/no conception of the productive oapaeity of the Commonwealth. The beginning of the industry was no larger than the proverbial man's'hand, but to-day we are receiving from Australia and New Zealand alone something' like i\ million bales of wool per year. That is really the fruit of the sowing of the seed about 1811, and wq give Mow reliable particulars of the price of merino wools iu England in the first week of July, : 1814. PRICE OP WOOL ON JULY 1, 1814. s.'d. s.d. Spanish shep, Leonosa 8 0 to 8 6 per lb. Spanish shssp, Se(j;ovia 6 0 to 7 6 per lb. Spanish sheep, Soria ... 5 0 to 6 3 per lb. Spanish sheep, Seville 2 6 to 3 6 per lb. Saxony, Ist' i. 7 0 to 8 0 per lb. Saxony, 2nd i 50to 6 S per lb. Bohemia* Ist i. oto 5 6-per lb. Bohemia, 2nd ..'- *3 0 to i 6 per lb. We should be very much obliged if any reader could explain to us the meaning of the first lour terms. We take it that they would be the description of the standard of wool that was then grown, but what their Teal significance is we cannot say. ■ Evidently they relate to certain descriptions of wool grown in the districts named, or they may have relation to the quality and character of the wools. Still the fact of prime standard tncnw/ woo) being worth Bs. to Bs. 6tj. per lb. is really significant. What the wool would be like in'that day no living man can say, but we will venture to assert that the standard of wool of 1614 would not be equal in.any point or particular to the average wool that is being grown to-day,.in either Victoria or New South Wales, except that grown-in the far west of the premier State, Spanish wool one hundred years ago ranked the first, but even Saxony was not far behind, though it will bo .seen that thoro was a wide margin between the quotation of Bohemia'lst and the top class of Spanish "wool. However, the table is authentic and shows distinctly what'was being paid in those days for good merino wool. Our only regret ds that we have no particulttis to show what was the ruling price for loading descriptions of English. . It .is rather interesting to note the following significant statement, thift being the first Tuesday in the month of July, 1814: "TRICE OF BREAD. On Tuesday last the Lord Mayor ordered the price of bread to be continued as follows; Quartern Loaf of Wheatern is sold for lljd. and Household IOJd." It is rather noteworthy that the ,word "Household" is a. familiar term in the restaurants of London to-day.