H.B. CLIP WILL BE LIGHTER

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 49, 20 November 1937, Page 17

H.B. CLIP WILL BE LIGHTER

Effect of Dry Autumn and * Winter LACK OF GREASE "Wool cllps throughout Hawke's Bay will be. eonsiderably ligkter this year than last, aceording to those farmers wliq have already begun shearing operatiops. The dry autumn, and winter, with a resultant lack of feqd, are blamed for this position, the wool being desqribed as absolntely d?y«. The. absence of tfie qsnal amount of grease would account for a. loss of prohably 11b. a, head in weight, .Mr, W, A, Tod, oif Otane, one" of the first. farmers in Hawke 's Bay to complefe his shqaring, has found a reduction of 31b. a sheep in tho clip from his fiockt as compayed w|th last season's yield. Mr. Tod has completed the whole of his shearing, including his breeding e.wes, but Ptoat other farmers in the district have sharn only their, hoggets so far, °1 have found the wool about 20 to 25 per cent. lighter this year than last," said Mr, Tod, The' ahnormal weather, he sftid, would be the cause of this, ihere being a dry autumn and a laek of green feed. Mr. Tqd CQmpleted his shearing on the first day of this month— before the spell of lrat weather set in. There was praoticaUy no grease in the waol clippqd from Mr. Tpd's fiock, which would fend to make it lighter than usual since about 11b, a sheep eun generally be aRowed for greasq. " ' ' | ( The wool was . absolutely dry, " he said, ( 'Wool will take a certam amount of moisture, and a little defiQitely imprpves it5 though to o much may turn it yellow," There Wus, he added, a tatai reduction of seven bales PO^UPUted with the amount pressed from the game number of slieep in 1036. Mr. Tqd *s fiock usually yieids a heavy e?ip, the hoggets normally giving 101 ibs, pr even ""more, but this year they havq yielde.d qnly 8lbs. = W, H, Rathbone, of Waipawa said thai^although* hq only 'began his Shakring- last week and had not half finighed yet, he felt certain that thq clip this. year throughout the whole of Hawke's Bay and as far north as Gisborne would bq much, lighter than: last year 's on account of the . dry,-. autumn and wiuter experienced,. Mr. Rathbone. a.lfo remarked on the absence of gveaae in the wool this season.^ His shearing operatipns were, seriously interrupted by the rain during last weeke?d, ' Gne pr two other farmers in the di'stric.t reported that during the past Week or so, sihce the warm weather aet in, grease in good qqantities has heen foupd in the slipe of shorn sheep, If this proves to be the case it will increase thq weights of the wool Trom luter.-sharn flacks and so help to bring up the avqrage weight of the Hawke's Bay clip as a whoie.