YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 255, 16 July 1918, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

4 MOHAIR VERSUS ALPACA (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, May SO. let 11s for once look at two leading products of tliu manufacturing world. Without tho fleece of the sheep the entire population of Hit world ivoufd bo in a sorry plight. ]f the war lias shown nothing else it has emphasised the vn 1 tic of the four-footed little animal us never before, ami when the history of the present tremendous struggle is writton, (he part played by the sheep cannot be ignored, on account of the proj vi.-ion it has afforded for both tho inner and outer needs of the lighting forces. There art; many people connected with wool who have little knowledge of mohair and alpaca, although Australia is producing a little clip of mohair. Alpaca is produced by a few pastoralists 011 the.west coast of South America. Mnhuir and alpaca aro important raw materials which, in days gone by, have been supported even by Austrnlasiau pasloralixU, while the importance of llieir manufacture is seen in tho large mills which are engaged in their manipulation in the West Hiding of Yorkshire and the United States. Mohair growing is an important industry in America, although naturally South Africa retains the premier position. Angara goat breeding and molyjir growiiig are not indigenous to South Africa, the first goals being imported from Asia Minor as far back as 1838. Nothing particular came of that small importation, it really being in 185S that South African pastoralists began to look upon the Angora gnat with some degree of favour. Really speaking, it was ill 1ST!) flint the industry became established in the Midland district of Capo Colony, and .has continued to advance ever since. The Price Factor. In tin; textile world there is such a thing as the law of association operating, and it is remarkable that there aro several raw manufacturing commodities which have, as it were, a counterpart, although perhaps I hat is not the best word to use. What we menu is that if we take the vegetable fibre called cotlon, the Germans Unlay aro utilising nettles and other similar fibres for the same purpose as cotton. There is natural silk, and artificial silk, llie latter now being made on a large commercial scale, possessing properties which prevent the uninitiated distinguishing it from the real genuine libre. Wool has its counterpart in mango and shoddy, though these aro really disintegrated cloth clippings, under garments, and (ho like. .Mohair's keenest competitor has always been alpaca,' an artielii grown upon tho alpaca goat which is bred on the west coast of South America, chiefly northern Chile, AVest Bolivia, and South , I'eru. Of course tho quantity produced is much less than that of Capo mohair. America buys a small quantity direct', but the bulk comes to England. Our imports last year were just under 25,000 bales, but the average weight of a. bale of alpaca is about one-third that of a Cape bale of mohair. Still it is an important adjunct of tho Bradford textile industry. During t.he past twelve months it has sprung into prominence, and occupies a very high position. It is the relative standing of mohair and alpaca which we particularly want to draw the reader's attention to to-day. Absence of Mohair Stocks Causes Inflalion of Alpaca Prices, During the past six months we liavo emphasised the absence of imports of Cape mohair. As a matter of fact. 350 bales arrived during the middle of March, whitji left South Africa 'about the middle of last November, and where they have been all the timo no one knows. These few bales were imported on spinners' own account, and therefore nobody knows what is the real market value. As a matter of fact, a few little lots have been sold which have made prices which would surprise the reader. Whether Ntliese big figures have been made owing to an exhausted market is a debatable point, hut the writer is certain that if I hero was any stock .if Cape mohair available, record prices, would be forthcoming. Of course, when there is nothing available and users are hungry, the small lots whijh'filter through say, five or ten bale.* at a time, naturally fetch high figures, but if the recent history of alpaca is anything to go by, raohair would be worth pretty stiff prices if it was available to-day. Past history shows that mohair and alpaca have always moved closely to.gether, and are usually in sympathy with each other, the figures obtaining in prewar times proving that conclusively. We have before pointed out that alpaca has moved to a level of values hitherto unknown in the history of the tradj. Of course, alpaca is still-a'"free" article, being uncontrolled by the Imperial Government. Its suitability for certain cleserijitions of hosiery cannot be gainsaid; in fact, its virtues seem to have been rediscovered during tho past eighteen months, and \;hen blended with crossbred wool it produces an excellent hosiery yam. Anything that is free to-day in the shape of raw manufacturing materials is worth big money, nnd alpaca being' free, those who have never before even looked at the article are to-day buying and spinning it. Tho reader will see from the following table how leading descriptions of alpaca have advanced since the outbreak of war:— Arequipa tlecce. Seconds. Locks, d. d. d. August, 1.914 ... IS ]l) 81 May,' 1915 19 ' 14.1 12 • Mnv, 191G 321 I'i ■ 13 May, 1917 27J 20 17 May, 1918 7(i til 40 Jt will readily be seen from the above that between the first week in May, 1917, :ind the corresponding week in 1918, there has been a tremendous rise, and the prices given are those actually made in Liverpool. We are living in times when ;!d. per lb. is neither hero nor there, it being a question to-day of spinners purchasing (iny raw material which will spin into a yarn, and which can bo I woven into a fabric at the best price possible. Would Mohair Have Cheeked Alpaca • Priccs? The above Question may appear to >oiue readers to be very largely "camoulluge," and there may be a good deal of supposition about what the writer is now n.i tempting: Id say. Still the question has been keenly debated in very responsible mohair ciieles in Bradford, and _ t ho 'inclusion lias been nm've.| at'llial alpaca is fetching enormous figures because of llie absence of mohair stocks. As already explained, mohair has always run :ibreast with alpac.i, one hii.s reflected upon the other, but to-day alpaca is in the van, with muiiair completely out of the mulling. 11 is the firm (onvictiou nf llie best nulhoriiies in Urndl'oid that if there hod been even a. reasonable supply of Cape mohair, it would have clieek•d'somewhat'l he IrememloiK advances in ilpiiea, and instead of seeing 7ffd. aeluillv made for .\i'H|iiip:i lleoce. if is safe in'ray that goo,; Cape firsts would have realised very moWi more than what is supposed to be thei • nominal value. One ir our friends points out the boiler ulapl.abitily of olp.iea for hosiery yarns llian mohair, a point which must be acceded. Alpaca is a softer handling fibre ban mohair, still one could have been used in oonjunclir,!; '.villi llie oilier, crossbred tops being blended by spinners in the drawing operation in order o cheapen the alpaca, and to get a liglil- "■ shade of yarn. The writer was ouoled Is. (id. per'lb. for <i while alpaca top, ■omelhing which Op to eighteen months igo was an al>so!ule drug upon ihe market, and was nor. worlh anything like lie value of either brown or black alisca. We believe we ore right in saying hat illie quantity of while, alpaca in a leece is only about 7 per cent, of the ivhole, the bulk being grey, brown, town ind black, the entire fleece having to be •orefully sorted and (the shades and inalilies kent separate. It is the writer'* linn conviction that the future of mo>air is bright, the crux of the whole Miration being the placing of mohair in the hands (»f Bradford spinners. In >lher words, the freight question is still insolved. No American Mohair for Bradford, Two months ago we mentioned the suitability of United States-grown mohair for Bradford spinners, which has 3i.cn tnken up by users here. We are in

a position to say that an effort Ims k'lMi made to bring mohair from Aniurica (o Hear!ford, and here again the absence of freight; blocks Hie way. An iv mutter of fact, there are two or three linns in Jinidfotd who have 'Important connections in the States, one firm particularly having a largo mohair spinning plant, and if mohair could be brought across the Atlantic it goes without snying that it would now be on its way. All efforts (o obtain freight hnvo so far P'.oved futile, and there is nothing to indicate any ease in the situation from that f|Mi'tei'. Mohair price? ;.t this end arc. largely nominal, but all the snino good figures could easily bo made if the stuff was I here to sell.