FARMING & COMMERCIAL

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 26, 25 October 1921, Page 8

FARMING & COMMERCIAL

NEWS AND NOTffl

AUCTION SALES FOFITHCOMINQ FIXTURES. TO-DAY. 136 Vivian Street, Wellington, 10.30 a.m.— Sale of motor-cars and accessories (Johnston and Co.). Levin Yards, 12 noon.—Stock sale. 50 Cuba Street, Wellington, 3.30 p.improperly sale (Butterfield and Co.). TO-MORROW. Waikanae Yards, X p.m.—Stock sale. Johnsonville Yards. 2 p.m.—Stock sale. 154 Featherston Street, Wellington. 2.30 p.m.—Property sale (Bethune and Co.). 102 Customhouse Quay. Wellington, 2.30 p m.—Property sale (Thomson, Brown, and East). THURSDAY. Bandon, 12.30 p.m.—Land sale (N.Z. Farmers’). North Road, Otaki. 12 30 p m—Sale of stock and implements (Abraham and Williams). Upper Ilutt Yards, 1 p.m.—Stock sale. LONDON WOOL SALES IMPROVEMENT MAINTAINED (From Our Special Correspondent.) London, September 8. The soles are being continued in Coleman Street Wool Exchange under most favourable conditions, and tho current series are tho best that have been witnessed for the past twelve months. The demand for the raw material is certainly encouraging, and must be very satisfactory, but Sir Arthur Goldfinch is apparently pluming himself on tho success of B.A.W.R.A. It cannot be denied that this official has knowledge of tho wool trade, but he has had no more to do with the present improved demand for wool, and consequently higher values, than the man in the moon, these higher prices 'being tho direct outcome of an increased inquiry, the result of improving consumption, both /at home and abroad. Demand Well Sustained.

The sales have made excellent progress since the beginning, and there is increasing evidence of general improvement. Every day’s sales sees manifest an excellent buying spirit; in fact, there is more "vim" about the sale room than one has seen for a long! time. Ono is reminded forcibly of what was witnessed in pre-war times, and the active demand for wool on the part of tho home trade continues to be the outstanding feature of tho auctions J, Bradford buyers in particular are keen, and it is evident that many topmakers have to buy heavily in order to cover sales of tops. What many wonder is, if the tops can be made even at cost, and it is a mystery to many how 64’s are going to be produced at 2s. 9d., at which price thousands of packs have been sold. There is to-day a unanimous opinion that average. 64’s are going to cost 3s. 4d., and warp G4’s 3s. 6d., prices which aye surprising everyone. Still, tho demand is there, and one has only to recognise the clean scoured costs set forth in the circular of' Messrs. Kreglinger and Fernau to 1 realise that Gt’s, even if made from good pieces, are going to cost sensibly more than the pricas already named. Features of the Sales. The offerings of merinos have not been up to the usual standard, and the limited quantity has no doubt had something 1 to do with the extraordinary prices which are being paid. B.A.W.R.A.’s wools are nearly all composed of small lots, with several marks bracketed together, there being very few straight clips offered. Aramac, which is a central Queensland clip, realised up to 17d. for tho greasy merino combing, this being good 70’s quality, nice length, about 50 per cent, dean yield, but essentially a Continental wool. Milo is a Warrego-grown wool, always acceptable to tho trade, but there was evidence of drought, the top line of merino combing only making 15d. Condition was wanting here, the wool also being a little seedy and wasty. Bockwood also showed good 64-G6’s quality, fair length, not too sound, 46 per cent, clean yield, and realised 15171. Terrick is grown out west, the necks making up to 15d. and pieces 151 d„ while Thylungra/ also saw the merino pieces making 15d. Although all the above marks arc Queensland-grown wool, there was nothing spicy about any, but the range of values paid clearly indicates a strong market. In tho case of New- South Wales, the top line of merino combing so far paid is 17?jd. for IXL, this clip showing good sound characteristics. The merino pieces of RH conj. realised l-ljd., and these were good shafty wools. One is really surprised at the very scrappy offering from New South Wales. West Australia has provided some decent clips, but here again they are all very scrappy, Wanarra, which inado 16d. for grease combing, being so far about the best. One would like to see a merino catalogue like what was witnessed during July, when some really first-class parcels came to the hammer. Tne best wools so far have come from Victoria, some good merino greaso combing selling up to 2lph. an 'l ,ve believe if some of tho crack clips from this State were catalogued, they would fetch in the neighbourhood of 25d. to 26d. for greasy combing wools. New Zealand Crossbreds,

The outstanding feature of the series is undoubtedly the splendid offerings of crossbreds from New Zealand, these being the best seen for the past twelve months. There is reason for this. Owing to the very low prices ruling for r edium and coarse qualities, B.A.W.R.A. has kept her wools off the market, end along with importers offering some big weights of last year’s clip, the offerings this series could hardly bo better. Fine crossbreds are selling 10 per cent, over last series, medium crossbreds are 10 to 15 per cent, higher, and low crossbreds 7| per cent, dearer. Scour.eds and slipes are also in the turn in sellers’ favour, and are making 5 to 10 per cent, more money. Still, good halfbreds are selling by far the best, and even making up to lid. in the grease. This shows practically 2d. per lb. advance on last series, and in medium crossbreds that advance is seen on wools that were selling l-'t series around 7d. to Bd. Very few wools to-day are being disposed of under Gd. for fleece. A very good lot of New Zealand merinos was catalogued last Monday under the Clarence mark, the top line of combing making ltd., pieces 9|d., bellies 9d„ and locks GJd. Although these were a little fatty, yet they showed splendid length and were sound. Greasy crossbreds out of the same clip only sold vp to Hid., and New Zealand pastoralists would bo wisely advised to look with a little more favour on the breeding of merino sheep and produce less crossbred wool. Chubut Merinos. It is not often wo sec offered i> London South American merinos or Chvbut wools, but these have been offered in fair weights this series; in fact, it is years since wo saw 18,(X)0 bales of South American origin catalogued in London during ono series. Of course, every London buyer is familiar with Punta wools and those from the Falkland Islands, but Chubut merinos are not often represented. These wools have come to London because of the very poor prices ruling locally, and tho owners have reason to be satisfied with their experiment. A fair offering of these wools lies been sold during tho past week, and tho wools have sold on the following clean ba*is:—6o’s to Gt’s, Uod.; average 58-60’s, 23d.; 58’s, 21<1.; sG’s. 18d.; 50’s, 15d.; superior styles, 5 to 10 per cent, dearer.

WAIRARAPA SHOW RECORD ENTRIES. Entries for the Wairarapa Show, to be held on Wednesday and) Thursday, constitute a record for the show. Details of entries for the past three shows are:—

The Judges for the show are:—Dog trials and working dogs: Mr. James McHardy, Taihape; competitions and light horses: Messrs. It. C. Wallace, Papatoetoe, and W. Hayward, Christchurch; draught horses: Mr. T. Carruthers, Middlemarch; Shorthorn cattle: Mr. R. E. Alexander, Lincoln College; Hereford cattle: Mr. G.. A. Wheeler, Taihape; Aberdeen Angus cattle: Mr. A. Miller, Hastings; Frieniaucattle: Mr. G. AitchiHastings; Friesian cattle: Mr. G. AitchiMills, Hawera;' Jersey cattle: Mr. .11. Griffiths. New Plymouth; milking Shorthorn cattle: Mr. E. law, Bay of Plenty; cro,ssbred dairy cattle: Mr. H. R. Lancaster, Palmerston North; fat sheep and lambs: Mr. Andrew Peters, Dannovirko; Lincoln sheep: Mr. A. D. McMaster, Featherston; Romney sheep: Mr. H. V. Fulton, Dunedin; unhoused Romney sheep: Mr. A. E. Sandilands, Feilding; Down sheep: Mr. J. Linton, Lincoln College; Leicester sheep: Mr. James 'Welsh, Clareville; pigs: Air. R. Charmley. Kiritaki, Dannevirke; Corriedales: Mr. H. T. Little, Woodgrove, Canterbury; sporting dogs: Mr. P. H. Wilsson, Wellington; grain: Mr. E. Harper, Masterton; butter: Mr. C. H. Andrews, Wellington; cheese: Dairy Division Staff. Wellington; concrete posts, Mr. A. H. Daniell, Masterton; grass and seeds, Mr. A. T. P. Hubbard, Masterton; woodworkj Mr. T. S. Arcus, Carterton; school gardens: Mr. A. R. Hadfield, Greytown; cooking: Mrs. A. K. Drew, Sanson; school cooking: Miss A. M. Dixon, fMastertpn; sewing and fancy work: Miss C. M. Page, Wellington; drawing: Mr. L. J. 'Watkins, Training College, Kelbnrn; writing: Staff Training College, Kelbnrn.

ASBESTOS MINES

A MINERAL THAT CAN BE WOVEN. Fifty-five miles from Selukwe, in Rhodesia, on an unspeakable Toad, axledeep in dust, is Shabani. And Shabani is the centre of an important and 1 evergrowing . group of asbestos mines—or, rather, quarries. The Shabani mine itself is cut out of tho side of a hill, is some six years old or so, and has already an. output of nearly 1000 tons a month. You are proba'bly (writes Edwin Adder in the "Daily Mail”) familiar enough with asbestos as yon see it in stores—a fluffy, cotton-like material that helps to give out heat but is indestructible by fire. As it comes out of tho quarry it looks like stems of grass that have Wen welded together. You can pick it from tho rocks with your hands; you can pull the stems apart into infinitesimal fractions, you can rub them in your fingers till they become pliable and silky; but you can’t break them. They are tougher than whipcord. You can weave asbestos. You can make string of it, or cotton, or clothing. And yet it is a mineral. Its uses and potentialities are not yet half realised. Tn the motor business, in the shipyard, in tho building trades its importance is increasing yearly. It is perhaps destined to supersede corrugated iron. The roofs of the huts in the Shabani native "compound" are made of it. It has a thousand possible uses besides making fireproof curtains. Tn short, asbestos has a wonderful future in the world’s industries. I was shown a cross-cutting in the walls of the Shabani quarry. Its dopth is roughly 20ft. There is a stratum of rock, irregular and varying from lOin. to a couple of feet—then a stratum of asbestos from tin. to Sin. thick, then more rock, then more asbestos. Experimental rock have been driven down, and the same formation exists below. The whole side of the hill is like some Gargantuan jam sandwich. I have described asbestos in the rough as like grass stems welded together. They vary in this mine from lin. to 3in. in length, and lying in the seam between the rock they are all perpendicular. Except for the slight variation in depth there is no irregularity in their formation. They have been placed in their position, handy for exploitation by mankind, by the greatest engineers in tho world—Dame Nature and Co.. Unlimited. It costs .£l3 a ton to get Shabani asbestos to London, as against £5 a ton for the Canadian. Explosives ond other mining materials and the ba"s in which it is packed all cost more than in Canada, and white labour is much cheaper, being mostly, native, ■Rhodesian and South African asbestos are heavily handicapped by production and transport costs. And there are rumours of prices going down through Russian competition.

1919. 1920. 1921. Competitions 9-1 94 116 Horses 204 230 207 Cattle 3S6 449 371 Butter-fat competitions 15 18 21 Sheep 337 319 308 Pigs 58 50 31 Dogs 174 137 174 Grain, cheese, butter, 1268 1297 1228 etc 122 88 115 Cooking 21G 297 Sewing and fancy work 118 80 125 School children’s classes 340 406 724 852 790 1261 Totals .■ 2120 2087 2489