YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2908, 21 October 1916, Page 15

YORKSHIRE LETTER

CLASSING FOR.TjIE SMALL GROWER (From Our .Special Correspondent.) i ■• Bradford, August 21. the advantage of a few hours spent with a member of the Australian Expeditionary Force, on sick, leavo iii thi3 country, has suggested a subject •on' which a few notes, however incomplete, may be of some interest to readers of this publicaiton. It appears that the small farmer in the colonies is at-no greater trouble to acquiiro expert knowledge, of wool than the small trader in Bradford. This is speaking of the men in tho mass, but it can be said of some of our large firms here also, in England that they do not care a farthing whether wool is good or bad, or long or short, or fine or coarse, so lug as they can make profit oat of it. A man is not a merino topmaker because he. loves merino tops. He happens to havo been taught the trade, or thinks he has a better chance of a fortune in it than in any other, and that is why he ;o engaged in it. In tho colonies, also, I am informed, there is opportunity tor a good number of the squatters who live within striking distance of towns such as Sydney, .Melbourne, ' Geelong, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, and a tew in New Zealand, to bear lectures or glean information about wool, aud why buyers prefer some kinds to others. In Bradford also there is a I technical college; with a. very cheap course of lectures, but people here are about as anxious to go to them, as pooplo in the colonies to theirs, and they seem 'to be alike also in that their first duty,when they have been, is to forget whatthey have heard. I hope I am not slandering any of my readers, but to judge by human nature and what several Australian visitors say, the above remarks cannot be far wrong. Certainly, Australia and New Zealand, aro young countries, and taking their people all round, they are more "pushing" than ours. Considering the physical disadvantage (long distance, chiefly) at which they are placed, they keep remarkably up to date about wool matters, and if they only understood English breeds like they do colonial, they could come over here and waken up dur farmers in a very startling manner. A good deal has been heard during the past year or two about classing. Some .people have advocated far too much of it. The writer is reminded of several clips that have come to London, which have been so minutely classed that most of the Tescriptions were "star" lots of thTee bales or less. These are 6old in another worn, and frequently for less money, as naturally a three-bale lot does not attract the same competition as a ten-bale lot. It is only when the market is so strong as it is to-day that star lots can bo counted on to fetch about equal money with "straights. There have to be extremists in every cause, and perhaps the preaching of those who have- urged farmers to male as many lots as possible has had some good effect in getting them to go halfway. Certainly the labour of the pro-duce-selling brokers' travellers, who visit the farmers during the year and give them "tips" on how. to preparo their wool for sale, has not been wasted. ±ne small clips of the colonies are coming to market classed better than eveiv It was a small six-balo lot>of greasy West Australian combing in a clip of only twenty bales or so, that made the record price for that' ' State m- London this summer, selling at 2s 3d That wool needed •no sorting whatever to go straight into long bis tops, but the spinner who bought it would sort it carefully,-as. all worsted smuners do with their choice wool, to out a few handful*: of sixty-sues from the shoulders of the fleeces. There were no; skirty pieces about that wool. It was all good, clean, sound fleeces, jieldiiiff 58 per cent, clean Tho next lot. of about' sovon bales... was branded "fleeces." .being the second-class woo - somewhat shorter and heavier hut still respectably skirted. The rest of the clip was pieces, bellies, and locks.. A difficulty the. small merino, grower has to face many a time" is to'lmow-jurt in what manner to : class, his .'wool. He knows that the object.bf classing is to put the wool into lots, so that a. buyer can suit his needs .without having to take kinds he does not want. By thus saving sorting and reselling expenses (for. tho unwanted wool) the buyer can give a better price. Everything depends on what the wool is like. .... ■ Unless it is really superior the grower need not waste his time.minutely .classing it, in the hope of getting spinners and speciality competition. Even then lit- is not woTth while unless the. best class makes five or six biles, or over. Sinners want length, quality, soundivess, and regularity-all the virtues, and none of the defeots . „ Assuming that wool is not 'superior, \t the bulk of the clip is of comubng length, say three inches in merinos, 1 would say to the grower, class it to please the topmaker and nobody else but yourUelf Here again five or six bales to a lot is a small enough number, and the size of the lots to attract most competition must always be a consideration in classing. Don't put heavy fleeces m the middle, or roll up dags and pieces insido fleeces. This is unnecessary advice to most growers, but one or two still try lt. Buyers know the trick, and instead of deducting a halfpenny from their value, to compensate, they deduct a. penny, to be "on the safe side ' Pieces and bellies can be baled together, if the pieces are heavy and not very fine, or-very short pieces can be baled with locks, though it is always best to keep the three separate if possible. For small clips, the best arrangement as ft rule is to have two classes of fleece— what the farmer calls good and better, the buyer bad and worse—then pieces, bellies, and locks. Classing for necks, backs, broken, eye pieces, etc., is often foolish, tor at least inadvisable, with clips of less than seventy or eighty bales.

Government Standard Prices for English Wools. In previous letters we havo state.d that our own Government ha<l fixed prices for now- clip English wools, and the following table shows the prices ruling for the different classes of honie-grQwn wools before tho war broke out, and what it is proposed to pay farmers this year, boing the general list for England and Wales:Average 1914 price 35 for well- p.c. washed, inc. light on conditioned 1911 wool; prices. Class of Wool. ■'' <1. <*• 1. Lincoln hogs and wethers 12 16} 2. Notts, Lester and Yorks., ■ hogs and wethers 12} 16} 3. Border Lesters 12 164 i. Border Lesters 12 M 5. Notts, Torts, Wolds, and Loster halfbreds 13i 18 'G. Norfolk halfbreds ;... 131 18, 7. Stall'., halfbreds 131 IS! B.'Shrops.,, -Oxford, and, . - -.■.,- .Hants..Downs 141 , 191 3. Dorset and-Sussex Downs _ ' ■ and horns,■-.. 15! 21 30. Eastern Counties Downs U . in 11. Kent tegs' ...-...?. • 13* ."; 181 12. Kent owes and wethers •■ 12* 161 13. Kent halfbreds ~.., U 19 ,14. Kent Downs .......: ....Mi -191 15. Cotswold.: Somerset and. .. ■ ... ■ Glos.'deep washed- .'Hi ' 154 IG. Devon,. Cornwall, . and ' Somerset, strong greasy 91 ,12* 17. Devon, Cornwall, and , Somerset, xbred greasy 10 13i IS. Devon, 'Cornwall, and . . Somorsot,. horns. 10* Hi 19.. Welsh Clmis and Best Korries »»• 13 17* 20. Welsh Fino Eadnors .... 12 IGI 21 Welsh'' Deep Eadnors ... 11-1 151 22. Best Welsh fleeces. ' 10i 141 "3 Low.Welsh.fleeces . 9-i 12} 24; Scotch washed 9J 12} "5 Scotch" unwashed 8J Hi 2G. Scotch washed, North of .:• Yorks- ' .; i.« 9-1 12.J 27..Scotch- unwashed , 81 111 28.'!lashams.' ....'. 10 131 29. Cheviots ... 12$ 161 30.' North' halfbred hogs. :... ,12}.- 171 31.-North ; half bred''wo'thors 121 ' • Ifii 32.' Herdwiek unwashed ....... 8 -11 33. Wonsleydale 12} , 171 Woods' Great Peppermint Cure For Couehs end Coldß, never fails."