OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2649, 21 December 1915, Page 10

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

——♦ '—■ ARGENTINE WOOL AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS : Bradford, October 15, 1915. It is always wise;..to know who your > joinpetitor is, and the fact is remarkable that less than hasbeen heard during the past year of Australia's great competitor than for many years previous. There was a time when the' River. Plate was looked upon as being . Australia's antagonist, and when much fear was expressed that the great frozen meat trade a? the Argentine was going to be;,a very strong rival against Australia and New Zealand. Of course, one can only;.,jvrite : according to one's limited knowledge, {and no oiio could have foreseen the develop; inent which has taken place in the markets, of j the world either from the stand- • point of wool consumption or frozen meat absorption. Any man who had forecasted that into this country we could have imported twelve million frozen carcasses of mutton'and lamb per year, all to be sold at good market prices, and at the same time the price of English mutton and lamb to advance sensibly, ..would hare been considered quite a fit candidate for an asylum, but yet this astonishing fact confronts tho pasforalists the ;wide'; world over: , The' attention. «f the'wool trade has been drawn this week to the quality of the forthcoming 'Argentine clip, and this .matter naturally is ■ important even- tor Austrolasianpastoralists," as;' well .is' to' .wool people at Heine. Of coyrse, it does not directly affect Sooth African pastoralisfas, because eo little merino, wool is now being grown in South America, except in ' Uruguay,' but all the same .big weights of crossbredsbeing on a market as a Tule affect, to eame extent the price of merinos, and it is this fact that directs attention to the quality and charactor of the forthcoming Argentine clip.' Wo believo there are to-day being depastured in the Argentine and Chile about .75 million sheep, all of which are producing a very useful and acceptable staple, though in some particulars it differs from that of, Australia. . > Climatic Conditions. Every reader ; of this issue knows that an absence of rain means, and the . Argentine Republic has experienced a very dry time, some reliable reports stating that no rain 'had;; fallen of any , consequence for seven months, but this week's River Plate mail brings the welcomo,.'intelligence that the drought had completely broken, abundant rains had. fallen,'■ completely changing-the-aspect' of the whoie country.. These being spring-rains ivill be. very i.welcome, and should lead to. a. prosperous spring. JQrougß aliyays has~ a depreciating effect-upon a growing clip, of wool, be it'merino" or crossbred,-,and. in the aggregate we shouldsay; ;,.t.hat crossbred sheep suffer, mqrb-. ..through ; drought thaiutbe' sinaUerrframed;',meriuo; The writer has known;;the prevalence' of. very dry weather -in- Australia, say, for three or 'four*. duration, have little or no effecfc.upon. the'growing merino clip, sbeep turning off a very acceptablo fleece when shearing ,time approached. No d<iubt the -prevalence of very dry. weather for six to nine months is bound to materially affect'adversely even .a .merino fleece, "while such ''"a"'''.drought npon crossbreds will be very serious ' indeed. Reports from the River P, late say that the forthcoming new clip will hardly bo as good as'last year's,'.'tat*it .will; -not vary a great deal iii^regaid.f.toV-'tiualitj';'■' Of "coursc, the halfbred will scale 50's, bur the. Liucoln-cross very-, largely -dominates the wholo 'of' tho. Soutli-A'm.erican. flocks, consequently the bulk of the wool must be called coarse and medium crossbreds. The Romnev has -been'very largely used through Patagonia and Chile, hence Punta Arenas., wools, as.; ,they, ■,are. best known, figure -from- "to M-s qnality,- . nrcfenting a totally' different appearance to' those grown in the Argentine. This .■.-varies largely, on account of the class of sheep, which are being'Jdepastured, and at tho same time climate, and pasturage help to decide: the nature- ; aid character of both sheep;;,and - fleece. 1 ; ; Some' years ago there was '■'quite'-,-a lxxfm'-in, Lincoln sheep l exported" from,'; . breeders ' enjoying ,a vest- Somehow! River. : Plate ;pastoralists ". have never, taken-greatly; to, ' or tho R(imney-3larsh .i; ; breed,- ;it seemingly

being their; chief, object to grow a big | fi'eezer and-as much'wool as possible.' | Features of River Plate Crossbreds. \ ,It must be ■.frankly stated that there i has been -a marked- improvement in the class of ' crossbred wool grown in tho Argentine, all.due to more certain breeding. 'As .already said, the frozen mutton trade lias exercised a very great influence on both- sheep and fleece, the Lincoln being the'most . used, for scud purposes. At . ■ one- time South American wools ■ were vastly inferior, in quaiity, breed and handle to. those grown in Australia and Now Zealand, but that cannot be urged to-day. There are several here in Brad- > ford who should- know and who assert < :that-there is practically no difference < between good River Plate crossbreds and those grown, in.-New Zealand, but that is uot ; actually borne out by. manufacturing - results. For purely topmaking purposes, . South American crossbreds do admirably;, they also spin commendably, but it ;is \vhen the yarns come to bo woven and seen in the finished fabric that tho .deficiency is most seen. The writer had occasion, some three or . four months ago to 'purchase tops in Bradford for a manufacturer, in which* New Zealand wools had been-blended with' South' American, tlip latter' predominating in the blend. No fault could be foun.d with the tops or • the yarns, but when the pieces came to be finished there was a marked hardness in the handlo which is detrimental to a finished" woven fabric. The 6ame cloth made from purely New Zealand and Australian crossbrwl .handled very differently, and only those-who actually saw the pieces could believe the-difference. We, cannot tell the reason why, but the fact' is known that fabrics made from South American crossbreds: handle harder than those produced from colonial crossbreds, nrid the same features obtain in merinos. It seems N to those conversant with the staple that there is not the, fjme suppleness or elasticity in the staple that there is -in' Ausfc'ralsian-grown wools, it being this feature which remains right to the finished fabric. The ".American public seems to appreciate more the somew'nat harsh and stiff handling properties of cloths, whicb English wholesale fabric buyers do not like at all, and this is easily accounted for. American, domestic wools wben used by themselves-have'the eame characteristics as River Plate crossbreds, the fabrics handle more harsh and hard, but an appreciation of this seems to be second .nature to the American pub■lic.i The.English- wholesale fabric buyers, as';,well -as- those -on■ the Continent, want a nicje,' soft, supple, full-handling fabric,, and even American manufacturers know that', tliey must use Australasian wools'jf. their-fabrics are .to possess -these characteristics.'! 'Possibly !an- infusion qfrroeri.no blood, would to some extent. modify these, peculiar characteristics, but..'then''they'Would be producing a smaller-framed animal - and growing a ■finer fleece.' We certainly think that so long.ns South American pastoralists find an. excellent sale for, their carcasses and fleeces" they will go on breeding on pre- • .sent-day lines. * ' High ;Priccs-for. South- American Cross-- ,' " breds. ■ ' One of the most/remarkable features of the situation ; is. .the tremendously big prices which are being paid both in" Monte : Video -and Buenos Ayres for new-clip wools.-'' It is well known that a good few thousand bales, some .say at least 20,000,' are being held to-day in Buenos Ayres. bought last year on German account, and we understand that American manufacturers'have, recently been buying freely crossbred wool on the sheep's back, fe.ir- ' ing that to be their only, source for this class of staple. Nev;s is to hand that '.. they have stopped -operations, but at the eame time big figures arc being paid by neutral Continental countries, and Germany is said to. be'buying again, allow-, ing tlie wool to remain in Buenos Ayres in readiness for speedy, shipment when ' peacOf. is declared. There is no doubt -that in the great eagerness to buy, Hol- | land, Denmark, Scandinavia, and -Ame- ' rica have rushed up the. price J of i cross-. ■' .breds". I to [almost Va' prohibitive point, ; being paid last week in Monte Video for j 46's to 56's flecco wool in the grease. / [ . ■ Quiet Markets. I Turning to the state, of the Homo : trade . 'we have to record a continuance of quiet ; -markets with prices still tending to sag., : The news this week from Sydney is hardL ly .so; favourable as last, although tho 3 ..writer,, has seen a cable message ..which r says' that good shafly merinos and cross- , ,breds;remain firm, but for medium and inferior wools distinct weakness is observable. We are not surprised at this, thc intelligence that spinners Cl's ■ tops are going to cost, 3s. landed in Bradford shows that .prices are practically on -. a parity with recent London'sales. No doubt we sliall find these good wools remain in excellent demand throughout the. entire .season, but at tho same time many ' aro. asking where the machinery is going to be forthcoming to. consume all prospective supplies. In Bradford there is a hand-to-mouth business doing, but 3s. is to-day a standard price for a good 64's top, December and later delivery. It is 1 freely stated that even less has been taken, but wo fail to see any rensoif on the part of topmakers to accept less in view of the continued combing difficulty./ If the Government had to grant licenses I for the export of merino tops, it would I not be long before values would soon show

a marked improvement, and we know that Japan is pressing the Imperial Government to grant licenses for.export to that quarter. Of course, tops sold on to'-da.v's basis of values show Rood profits. and no one can blaino topmakers for soiling forward whou they can obtain business. There is still the same agitation over tho demand for licenses for tho export of tops, and the Executive of tho British Association of Wool Buyers .yesterday passed, a. resolution endorsing the attitude of the export branch of the Chamber of Commerce, who favour a recommendation being made to the War Trade Department with'this object in view. Prices are quotabiy unchanged, but topmakers are etill squeezable.