BLACK WOOL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2211, 8 June 1908, Page 1

BLACK WOOL.

A VALUABLE COMMODITY. SCIENTIFIC BREEDING.. (From our-Special (Correspondent.) BRADFORD, April 24. Bonding tlio other (lay a short account in Jin Australian papor that a New South', Wales pastoralist has found outSjtlio secret and reduced the breeding of black sheen to a science, led me to think of black wool, and the special characteristics of that valuablo commodity. Tho information is given that this breeder has already a Hock of HUGO sheep, as black as Erebus.:. If 1 remember right, a Queensland squatter has lor years bo. u engaged i« building up a black merino llocly, though the world lately has heard wry little about it. To bo told that the - HUGO already referred to gavo an average of '7-4lbs. of wool per head last shearing, and the sumo to sell at Tiki per lb., is decidedly interesting aiul "fdlitable reading. Another interesting fact is that tho lamb, ing of tho, niggers was 84 per cent., ■and to be further told that a wellknown stock salesman had been commissioned ,to purchase tho best blac'k ram in the Commonwealth to further improve this unique llock, reads almost like a'fairy tale. Most sincerely I lioaftly •: ti'i.itSuvr; : .df such-' a course of conduct, and wish everyone engaged in attempting to produce black sheep every success. WHY BLACK SHEEP ? It would be interesting to know the causo of lambs being born with black wool, when tlieif parents were both as white as driven snow. Decently 1 spent a. week-end with an intimate friend who is a sheep-farmer in one of our lovely Yorkshire dales. All his ewes aro Scotch Blackfaced, a breed essentially fitted for tho rough fells and moors of the high altitudes of this part of tho country. It was lambing season, and in bis Hock some half a dozen black lambs had arrived. I stood and examined one carefully, wondering why this should have come into the world with a coat as black as my hat, when its mother stood closo by with a fleece as white as snow. Hero is a field for scientific exploration, and as I write this, tho thought occurs, that it is worth while putting a low black fibres under a strong microscope to seo if tlio construction of tho fibre is similar to an ordinary white staple. I don’t expect to see any diiferenco whatever, but possibly one may find a little change in -the coloring matter, if I' may to term it, of the ceils themselves. The reason why Lincoln wool is so lustrous, is due entirely to the action of light striking tho largely constructed colls of tlio fibre, and the same becoming polished and glistening to the eye. i am not in a position to dispute the possibility of black sheep being bred scientifically, but there is absolutely no guaranteo that by coupling a black ram and ewo together that the progeny will bo black. A COMMON P.ROVERB. This last few years, black wool has been made a great deal more of than was formally done, and where at one

time it was more of a hindrance and nuisance than a. blessing, this is not so to-day. Black wool has come to stay, and those breeder's who have a few black sheep in their flocks may regard them more as a special blessing than otherwise. The oft-repeated axiom, that thero are “black sheep in every flock” has lost to some extent its horrid significance, though the sneak and impostor that attempts to cheat under tho guise of purity and truth is certainly deserving of the strongest words of condemnation, and to he cast out of society as a blackguard. Heal black sheep in the animal world can only bo regarded to-day as “a boom and a blessing to men,” illustrating once more tho wisdom of a bonign Creator in providing His creatures with exactly what they want to preserve health and promote the general happiness of mankind. BLACK WOOL POPULAR. During the past few years black wools have grown in popular favor, simply because they have found their proper sphere for which nature intended them. Every slieep-breeder must know by this that unlike white wools, black descriptions aro used ill their natural'state, that is, undyed. It is impossible-to dye black wool into any other shade than black, the operation simply deepening tho colors and rendering it more heavy or “jet black” still. But medical science, aided and. substantiated by experience, lias found out that dyed fabrics when worn next to the skin are highly injurious to the wearer, and should never be adopted by anyone, and particularly by a person given to sweating. Take tlio case of a. person troubled with sweaty feet and who wears say, black stockings. He cannot conceive of that person doing a more foolish thing, endangering health at every turn, and yet, for all that, it is a very common occurrence. After a lifelong experience in handling and seeing wool throng'll every stage of its manufacture, wo have long ago discarded the use of all dyed materials next to the skin, confident that the absorption of coloring matters by the pores of the skin is simply tho absorption of so much foreign and poisonous matter. It is exactly here that the benefits of black wool comes in, and modern manufacturers have at last mot the needs of nature by producing the very fabrics that nature requires, and which aro best fitted for mankind at large. USES OF BLACK WOOL.

The production of “sanitary” or “health” fiannels or undergarments is now a thing of first importance with under-wear manufacturers, and these are tho men who compete keenly for black wools. It is no uncommon tiling to-day, to see a. bale of black, fine wool sell for 25 to 50 per cent, more than does the ordinary white wool out of the same flock, simply because the black is scarce and wanted. When the British Government gave out an older for natural underwear flannels at the biginning of the Boer war, black wool went up'tremendously, and it lias fallen very little since, it being to-day relatively dearer than white wool. “Natural grey” flannel, or “health” flannels as they are usually called, are the things for every person, and as under vests, pants, etc., they should • -be universally worn, containing no wool that lias been dyed, the color, if sometimes a little light, being got by blending together white and natural black wool. Even the scouring of the black wool does not alter the shade, only the grease, etc., being removed, the color being the same. In those black wools we have everything a sensible person can possibly require for comfort and appearance., besides wearing capabilities, and more the hygienic qualities become known, the greater will be the call. To growers, wo would say, let all the black fleeces be baled separately.

It iy a mistake to pack them along with white fleeces, as it is not every buyer that can use them. Even if there are only sufficient to make a little bale, that will sell bettor, because it is all black wool, than if it were a mixture of black and white.