THE GOLDEN FLEECE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2640, 10 December 1915, Page 3

THE GOLDEN FLEECE

WOOL BUYERS AT WORK. Through high skylights an energetic 6ummer sun struck through without remorse. Inside the great barn the atmosphere was sharply pungent with the aroma of warm grease glistening on the Niagaras of wool that streamed from a double row .of bales, which at first, glance looked as though they were pouring their contents into tlife reeking, ''alleyway. .Here and there along this woolly way, tljo buyers, clad in long white coats extended from the'neck to the ankles/ "Mod. at intervals,, catalogue in thi? Jf 'hand, leaving tho right free, to inuv ii)>._tlie perspiration that • streamed li'-;1i'-; ih'eir troubled brows. About uo,C.'ln ,-i.re to be offered at the sale, arc] ..i(-had to be looked over, handled,-. ter.s'out, smelt—it'was very : 'hot-.:- Years of training is necessary to .( enable a roan to judge a fleece quickly. The job .100 - ' extremely simple, judgiri« by tho rate the expert dod«es from bale to bale, jotting a figure opposite (he catalogue number between. "feels." A buyer does not need to examine every lot. He knows exactly what his principals want, and restricts his attention to those lines. If his people at Home or in America only want the finest fleecy wool, it is useless expecting him to'pay anv attention to coarso crosibreds and bales of "bellies" and "locks." The actual examination of the wool does not take long. A handful is pulled out from tho balfe, picces are stretched out to get tho length of the staple, and teased out and drawn -to get an exact idea of its texture, strength, and >condition. . How beautiful! It is a full fleece of a rich creamy-tint. "That bale ought to bring a good price," said the unsophisticated one. "Yes, nice and clean," responded a buyer, "but not sol valuable as this!" indicating a thoroughly' disreputablelooking motley-coloured wool that protruded impudently from a forward bale. "How is that?" ' "See, here is the clean bit —short in the. staple—now look at .this. Staple half as'long again—spin itself!" . A few yards further, on there was a bale of wool that looked as if it had come from tho backs of the black sheep of the' family. "Why 'put the black sheep's wool iri one hale?" "That's not black wool—it's only logstained. The slieep havo been' runnijig in country that has not long been burnt off, and the black off the charred logs stains the wool. That's not such bad stnff at all." . Not content with the wool that already dribbled out of the bales, an expert would occasionally plunge his arm iii as far as he could, and drag out a iiow lot for examination. He didn't seem .to care how much mess ho made, or whether the wool from one bale sloppod over into another, but with Bushed and perspiration-strehming faces they made their examination of the wool with great singlor.ess of purpose, feayinn: littlo to each, other, and guarding their catalogues from the scrutiny of competitors.' These men buy for the world. France. America, - Japan,: -England—they,, all want the wool, and apparently want-it badly. :