A Wool Grower's Complaint.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 126, 28 January 1909, Page 5

A Wool Grower's Complaint.

Sir' - As a vool-proucr, and Pellet at the recent Auckland Wool Sales. 1 shall be much obliged if you will allow me space to reply to the letters and remarks of some of the buyers. Let me state*my own case. I have sold in i the Auckland market for several years; I class my own wool, and each year on going through my clip with the auctioneer, I have asked for hints as to improving the "get up," but I have been told that I have done everything that is necessary and possible in the way of skirting and classing, so far as the size of my clip (some seventy) bales will permit. Now, Sir, take the catalogue of the last wool sales I and the bidding at auction for my 1 wool. In the first place I may state [ that to sixty-four bales of fleece wool I had ten bales of pieces, bellies, etc.. so that the skirting was fairly heavy. Then 1 made a class of bright, clean Romncy crossbred, twenty-five bales, with, ro far as 1 could see. scarcely a fault. I had twelve bales of the same texture but dirty and seedy; for the clean wool there was only one bid of sevenpence. and for the dirty wool one of 6|d, and when both lots were passed, two of the buyers turned round and said very indignantly to the manager of the auctioneering firm: "There V no use us coming to Auckland if you won't sell the wool," and the whole clip was passed. In the~evening however, one of those same buyers came round and gave ?$d for the clean wool, and I jras told by the manager of a leading firm of woolbrokert that he bud sold wool in the evening for as much as three half-pence per lb. more than was bid for it at auction. Now, <o far as the actual biddnig under the hammer is concerned, what inducement is there for wool grower* to take the trouble of classing their wool when only {d more is offered for the best wool than for the rejects? It simply proves a want of competition, and the Auckland wool brokers will have to try and arrange (heir date so as not to clash with the larger wool sales in the South. At the Christchurch sales on the following day: "Keen competition and record prices for pieces, etc, "were the headlines in the newspapers, and last week's -<ale at Invercargill, prices advanced so that the apparent slump in ***o»l only obtained in Auckland! While admitting that there may be false packing and topping in some few cases, why do not the buyers encourage honest and careful packing when it is i rlone? So far as "topping," or putting ; b few fleeces on the top of the bale is j

concerned, i*. may be well for those who try that sort of thing, to know that bates are opened top and bottom ultrnately. and sometimes in the midlie. In conclusion, I may add that nftcr taking the trouble to skirt, and then make four classes of my wool [he difference in price between my fery best and my very worst, namely. ots and dirty wool not fit for either ; Feccnd or third class, was only one Krnny per lb., whereas had I dumped he whole lot together, skirtings and ill. I should probably have got a bigrer cheque for my clip. I am, etc.. N. I. HUNT.

P.S. The wool-buyers having gone out of their way to cast a slur on practically the whole of the farming community in the Auckland district. I think it is only fair to show thr oth*r side of the question.