PREPARING WOOL FOR MARKET

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2185, 14 September 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

PREPARING WOOL FOR MARKET

SOME TIMELY HINT’S,

At the sixth International Coulorviico of Sheep Breeders, held at Derby, Mr. S. B. Hollings, road a paper on “The Preparation of Wool for Market,” and as tho colony’s wool season is now approaching, a summary of tho conclusions arrived at by Mr. Hollings will bo of interest. Mr. Hollings oponod liis paper 1>3 T drawing attention to tho incroased values now obtaining for wool, and said there was on every hand an incentive for sheep-brooders to look at their growing fleeces with feelings of pride, whilo manufacturers could urgo, with somo dogroe of reason, tho necessity of preparing wool for market in a real practical and up-to-date manner. He paid a high compliment to tho manner in which wool from tho colonies was placed on tho market, and stated that more objectionable and foreign mnttor might ho found in 250 fleeces taken from an average English sheep-farmer than would bo taken out of 1000 to 2000 flocces of Australian or Now Zealand origin. Ho pointed out that in view of the much smaller sizo of tho flocks of Groat Britain, it would not pay wool-growers to divide their wools into tho numerous classes which usually constitute an Australian clip. In regard to colonial methods of preparation, Mr. Hollings said“ Briefly put, every colonial station of even average dimensions places at the head of a clip a competent clnsser, whose business it is to see that every fleece is properly classed as to quality, then skirted and locked before being put into tho halo to be packed for market. Every shorn fleece is handled with intelligence, by careful attention being paid to those points which a grower knows will tell in his favor when the wool is offered for sale. A good attempt is usually made to keep all tho qualities separate, ‘mixed’ parcels only being taken b3 T those who li'ko to buy such a clip of wool lit more or less a speculative price. Uniformity of quality is a very valuable feature in any parcel of wool, and buyers know how to appreciate this when tlio3 7 see a clip straight and uniform in regard to quality and breed of wool. It is a great mistake to bale together fine and coarse fleeces, and even when handling fleeces of the mutton breed it pa3’s to bale sejiarately tho fine, medium and coarse fleeces. It must be x'emembored that before these leave the sorting table evei'3’ flecco, without exception, is taken and skirted—that is, tho heavy bellies and britoh aro removed, tlie remaining fleece then boing taken and rolled separately. Tho great thing to remember is that anything of an objectionable nature is seldom rolled into tho fleece, the bellies, stained pieces of britch, and tho locks being baled soparatob’, and then each lot is sold on its merits. By this method of marketing wool, buyers approach colonial clips with confidence, men being satisfied that tlie middle of tho bale will be as free of foreign matter as aro tho fleeces on the outside. A vast improvement has been noticed of late years in connection with tho wools from the River Plate, though even hero tliero is hardly that uniformity in classing and preparation for market which one observes, say in New Zealand fleeces of a coi'resjionding quality. I now leave out Australian wools, becauso the great bulk is merino—English, New Zealand and. River Plate wools all e’oming under the category of crossbreds. During the past ten years —thanks to the introduction of the best Engish blood, and the adoption more or less of colo'nial methods—River Plate wools have vastly improved, both in quality, character anil general get up. Still there is room for improvement, and particularly the system of selling all the qualities together, which so frequently is the case. When lino and coarse qualities of crossbreds are sold together, tlio buyer, as a rule, tries t>o secure the parcel at the value of the coarser quality, consequently the grower makes a sacrifice which he need not do if he will, before baling, separate tho fleeces into their respective qualities, say, fine, medium and coarse. A New Zealand clip, as a rule, is done in this fashion, hence we see the big in-ices paid to-day for New Zealand grown wools. It is hardly to ho expected that English sheepfarmers will go to the trouble of classing such as we see in Now Zealand, but as regards keeping out extraneous matter it must be done, otherwise that clip will inevitably suffer in regard to price per pound.” Mr. Hollings went on to refer to the evils of false packing, and said there, cannot he an3 r possible excuse for any sheepfarmcr to roll up his fleeces, heavy bellies and britch without the dirt being removed. Bus’crs, he said, acted oil the adage “once bitten twico sliy.” If a buyer purchased a clip of wool which afterwards turned out to have been badly handled that farmer’s next clip would bo earmarked, and tho buyer would make a serious attempt to get back from the farmer the loss encountered the previous year. Mr. Hollings recommended that shearing should be done on a clean-swept floor, and not under any circumstances on a bed of straw. Wool containing loose heinj), string, straw, short fluffy bits from tho inside of tares, meant much extra cost in manipulation, while owing to vegetable matter not talcing the dye like wool,. serious loss is caused through soileil pieces. In British wools the worst feature was straw. AVhilc growers persist in “rolling into their fleeces everything that has been picked up while the wool Is growing, there should ho no surprise felt at the “gingerly” way in which such wools sell. In a quiet, time, and when prices are low, a bu.ver favors most that man’s wool which he knows from past experience to have been properly skirted and locked, while if he handles a doubtful clip he invariaby allows a sufficient margin to compensate him for unexpected eventualities. '