WOOL SORTING AND PACKING.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 104, 28 December 1868, Page 312

WOOL SORTING AND PACKING.

(From t.lia Brisbane Courier,

Wool growers will give me credit when I say that those who takb the wool, year after year, out of the bale? iu Great Britain, place it on tables, examine handful after handful, fleece after fleece* and put every sort, by itself for further treatment and operation, must needs know at least as much about sorting, and packing as those who grow the wool and put the. same in the bales. It has often been a painful operation to open bale after; bale and find the valuable wool so mixed that, not only many coarse fleeces were found among the fine, but flue and coarse fleeces and locks so jumbled together, that the general exclamation was, “ I will never buy another bale from that brand, if I can help it."’ If growers only knew the immense trouble such jumbled and carelessly packed wool gives to the manufacturers, and the great dimunition it creates in the prices, and consequent ioss to themselves (the growers), they would certainly bestow greater care as to how they send their wool ,to market.

To send the wool properly sorted is in .all cases of fine wool the best and most profitable, both for the grower and the manufacturer. Coarse wool does not matter so much; bur good packing is required in all cases, as I will show presently. ' - Sorting wool by the -growers is not so difficult, laborious, and scientific an operation, or connected with . sb much .expense, as may be thought’by sortie." The 'main Work is to. separate-' the head, neck, feet, and a portion'of the belly wool, from the fleece ; & little practice will soon enable the inexperienced sorter to'- see the difference between the fine and the coarse. Fine fleeces are kept separate, and the coarse and all the locks—-that is, heads, necks, and bellies, and all discolored 'wool—each sort by itself. In packing; the-properly sorted fleece, ii matters little - whether each fleece is rolled up or packed one of the other flat, aud so'put in bales.; but if the sorter is not. a' practical man, it is better do roll up each fleece; separate; the yet remaining coarse parts are thus easier separated from the fleece when the bales are opened-, and the care .thus taken by the grower is -appreciated by the manufacturer! Wooi senr in the proper way recommends itself to the buyer, and commands a high' price ; the reputation, of, the '.grower rises with every year, and with it the price of the staple. Locks are usually sold at half price, and eagerly bought for inferior use. Should some, for want -of sorters or other .causes, he obliged to send the wool unsorted to,..market* they should endeavor to . save it from being jumbled together. , ‘Ail the care possible should be taken in packing such wooh Bach fleece must be carefully handled ; the head, the neck, the foot, and belly folded inside, and then the fleece rolled carefully together, and placed ready for packing. ' Each Tolled up fleece must be carefully put in the sack or bale, so that - none of the locks are scattered.. T” But let, us mark .the difference between (1) properly sorted wool, (2) sorted wooTcarelessly packed, and ( 3) unsorted wopl carelessly packed. - 1. Of the first I have little more to say but that it is . a pleasure to opeD such bales, for sorted’ wool is never, or very seldom, tampered-with. r The purchaser does not grudge 'to give a high price - for. it,- for he gains' ou the quality and labor bestowed by the grower. ; Nos. '2 and fl 3. ; I may mention that all, assorted’wools are subject, jo adulteration, wjucb .1 .kno'iy for.

.certain is frequently done by wooldealers. Unsorted wool is frequently opened, fleece after fleece unrolled, and locks the-wool -dealer buys at . half-price put in,; then carefully rolled'up again, packed in bales, and so sold, to the loss of the purchaser. This is only found out when the wool comes on’dhe..table to be sorted: The sanrl and rubbish mixed with the already mixed wool is often so great that lam sure the grower would not know or believe it to be the wool he sent to the market. Such bales present a pitiable sight, and many a small manufacturer is ruined by such wool. So •it is- that, as a matter of course, .the properly ’ sorted wool is sought for, and, higher prices given. The trouble and extra labor manufacturers have with unsorted -(especially badly packed) wool you will partly understand when I tell you that every single coarse, bristling hair must be taken out of the cloth' with fine tweesers. ...

I come now to another sort of wool —the dead wool. All wool not taken from the live sheep is called dead wool. Tins'wool should, in all cases, before washing, be properjy r sorted, as the mixing with the locks is so great, onri the trouble to separate afterwards so much, that it diminishes the price to an' extent that will pay no our connected with it. When tlie wool is .properly sorted, and then clean washed, it commands a fair price and is readily bought, and that for two reasons—lst. Because it is cheaper than. live wool. 2nd. It is softer than, live wool, and therefore often used instead of lamb’s wool to give the cloth a certain softness- to the touch. Lamb’s wool is not prefer able; besides, it is . muck dearer. Some manufacturers use dead wool too freely. The cloth it iuake3 is beautifully soft, but-'woe' be to the : wearer of suc-h a coat. The moths and fishworms will eat whenever they have a chance, while they would .not touch the article manufactured from the live; wool when in the same place. Dead is easily distinguished from livfe wool. Take in one hand live wool’; iu the other 'dead wool, equally clean; squeeze the hands fast together for a, ,fevv seconds, then open /them : the live woof will expand with great elasticity, the dead wool will remain compressed. ; In conclusion, I would impress upon every wool-grower to bestow all possible care/ upon proper: washing, sorting, and packing,, aud to beware of soda in aiiy -shape or form; Soda 'Si.uii.wet packing 1 will ’rot wool before it reaches, the European market, to say nothing of the danger to ; ships and - cargoes, and destruction of hu

man life. Should my advice •be followed, I have no doubt the best results will follow. I should ■be /glad to hear at some future- time that, good has been derived- therefrom, -and I shall feel amply rewarded for my communication.—Yours, &.e., 12 Years’ Experience.