WOOL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 16749, 2 January 1915, Page 12

WOOL.

(By S. B. HOLLINGS, in the “Pastoral Review.”) During the past twelve months the writer has had the privilege of inspecting a'good many whole fleeces, including the ninety-odd bales of American Territory wools that were sold at the London March series of sales, and. therefore Can claim to have some .practical knowledge of the merinoes being depastured in the land of Uncle Sam. Let me say straightaway that I have great admiration for the sheepbreeders of the United States, although I, could* make some very pointed remarks concerning the methods adopted across the Atlantic, and still more on what I believe has been for many years a hoodwinking policy on the part of the high tariff party in the United States. Perhaps I should get my head into my hands if I had to say all I think, but the more daylight is let into tho ways of those favouring high duties on imported wool, and the more one considers the very low values prevailing during the past three years, when tho late tariff obtained, the more clearly one sees that American sheephreeders havo been labouring under a wrong idea in thinking that eleven cents duty afforded any protection to their own wools. No doubt tho American textile industry needs some protection against the large imports from Great Britain anti the Continent, but all along we have contended that domestic wools not making prices equal to tho imported article, lias helped to expose the fact that a duty on imported raw material is wrong in principle. I remember very distinctly the great contention of the late Judge Lawrence at the time when the Dingier tariff was passed. The sheepbreeders, whom lie represented, were told that they would receive an English equivalent plus 5-Jd per lb for their domestic wools, but promises and performances are two very different things. However, the thing can be left at that, only it is significant that under free wool, American sheephreeders actually obtained more per pound for their Territory wools than they did twelve months before, when a duty of 11 cents per lb was in force. I contend to-day as strongly as ever that American sheephreeders will be equally as well off, if not better, under free wool than , they were under- a duty of 11 cents per lb. But it is not on the question of duty on raw material that I want to write to-day. Tho subject of the bettermen of American merinoes is uppermost in my mind, --and therefore I think there is to-day a good deal of interest to Australian merino stud breeders in the present position of American merino wools. THE WEAKNESS OF YANKEE

MERINOES. Four samples of American merino wool lie upon my sorting table to-day, which were sent to me to be reported upon by a gentleman who knows woolgrowing conditions both in the United States and Australia. These samples are from wool grown by ono of the leading stud breeders in Wyoming, and may be said to be representative of the merino wool grown largely in tho United States. I have no fault whatever to find with tho quality of tho wool. On that score it is as good as one could desire, and quite equal to the rank and filo of the raw material grown in Australia. The quality ranges from 64’s to 70’s, and is a good commercial article. It also shows a nice useful length, is fairly sound, and the serration of the fibre is equally good. On these points they would pass any reasonable test, and meet the. requirements of manufacturers. When we came to condition, things are up another street altogether, and it is hero where I unhesitatingly say that United States merinoes are behind even the ordinary wools of Australia. If I remember right, the samples referred to abovo were from sheep of the Rambouillot type, and as such show excessive condition. Of course, one exfete to seo this in show merinoes, but attach no importance even to that, for all the parcels of American merinoes, including the ninety bales which were sold at the March London sales, were exceedingly heavy in grease, and, therefore of a most treacherous kind. I had in my office one day last week the head of a large Bradford house which.is among tho biggest firms doing business with the United States, and he has bought American merinoes moro thfn once, but he says “ Never again.” After he had estimated tlio clean yield, the wool shrunk more and more with every handling, and he found when it reached the top. and yarn stage, it showed an excessive loss. A wellknown Bradford buying broker bought some three or four years back some fairly big weights of American domestic merino wools, and sold them to several parties here whom I know personally. Everyone without a single exception found fault with the “clean yield,” tho tops costing more than thoy "ought to have done, notwithstanding they wero bought on a clean, scoured basis, landed in Bradford presumably as cheap as Australian merinoes. Everyono complained of being “ taken in ” with them, .and I am satisfied that it is on this head that there is room for a vast improvement. In writing in this strain I am not overdoing the thing, but simply stating actual facts. Ever since I began to handle American merinoes, and to sec tliom both in London and Bradford, I have been satisfied that there is room for improvement in condition, and think free wool is going to provide an opportunity for Australian stud breeders in America such as came to them in South Africa. Ido not expect anything like the same number of stud sheep to bo sold in the United States as went to South Afriac, but am satisfied that American sheepbreedors will have to adopt Australian methods if they intend tlieir sheep and wool industry to remain at the front and face the competition of the world.

American merinoes are very much like the average South African merinoes, which are very treacherous indeed. Everybody complains about the shrinkage each season, the clean yield always being, less than estimated. Of course, American sheepbreedero will say that their manufacturers on account of long experience know what to expect. That is all right, but no man worthy of his name will be satisfied to produce a second and third rate article when ho has the means of producing a better, and it is exactly hero where sheepmen in the Territories can go one better than they have hitherto done. It is no uncommon thing to hear of American merinoes shrinking 70 per cent., but given decent combing wool such a state of affairs ougth never to exist. Merinoes shrinking anywhere from 65 to 60 per cent are heavy enough. ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN PREPARING WOOLS FOR MARKET.

Quite recently a conference has been held by Boston dealers and American woolgrowers, to see if anything .could be done to encourage the preparing of Territory wools for market on Australian lines. The suggestions of a leading member of the producing side of the trade seem to me to have been “scotched,” and I certainly cannot accept as final the findings of that conference. It is quite true I am not too familiar with the conditions' obtaining in the Territories, but 1 cannot accept without somo modification the decision that American Territory wools cannot be prepared for market more after the Australian fashion, and I affirm here that a grower possessing from 5000 sheep upwards, say even 2000 sheep, can prepare his clip for market in a far better way than rolling all the belly, skirt, dags, etc., inside the fleece—a custom which obtains to-day. Such a method of preparing wool for market will appear slovenly to every reader of “ The Pastoral Review,” and why growers have not been encouraged to prepare their clips for market in a more up-to-date manner is past the comprehension of many a one familiar with the methods obtaining, throughout the whole of Australasia. There is nothing whatever to hinder American sheepmen, where flocks of any size are kept, adopting better methods than those their efforts would appeal to those generally followed to-day, and I venture to say that if they would do so, buyers who are in search of wool* where reliability of yield forms one important condition of purchase. A MARKET FOR STUD SHEEPI may be regarded as a little before my time in announcing that in my humble judgment, the United States should prove a good market for Australian stud sheep of the plain-bodied type. Of course, American stud sheepbreeders will, naturally object to my having stated such a case, but the writer is now only concerned with the , present and future standing of the American sheep and wool industry. Anyone taking a practical interest in such matters can see that , American sheepbreeders from now henceforth are going to have to face new conditions, and if they wish to compete successfully against tho whole world in wool production, a different style of animal Irom what they now possess will have to be reared. lam now advocating the importation of Australian merinoes into the United States as ah interested part, it not making one cent differ-' once to the writer whether such a thing is done or not, the only motive being the ultimate well-being of the American sheep and wool trade at large. A good deal of nonsense has beon written in one of the American textile papers about United States merinoes being the best on tho face of ■ tho globe, and I hope ©very American sheepman will go to San Francisco next year and see tho Australian merinoes which will be there, and then, ask himself what kind of animal the fleece is grown on. Thero aro hundreds _of flocks Commonwealth ih which stud sheep could * be found which would eclipse either sheep or fleece of the best studs at present existing in the United States, and it is to bo hoped that Australian sheepmen will make the utmost of the forthcoming Panama Exhibition. ‘I may, as before stated, be regarded as writing before my time, but I will venture to prophesy that the day is not far distant when American sheepmen, if they mean to preserve and maintain their standing, will turn to Australia for sheep growing lighter and bettor wool. THE MANUFACTURING PROPER-! TIES OF AMERICAN MERINOES. I have already referred to tho fact that several Bradford spinners have used American merinoes, and only recently a member of the trade at this end, who knows American wool as well as anyone, made a statement that American merinoes, instead of improving as they went through the different processes of manufacture, get worse. That is rather a serious charge, and it is well worth looking into. I do not assert this without some qualification,,, but I have heard the same statement before. When I have seen in American papers that United States merinoes were the best in the world, the question has always arisen in my mind: “ Why d'o American spinners and manufacturers so largely buy Australian merinoes? One may reply that they d® this in order to help out the deficiency, of their own domestic clip, there not being sufficient American merinoes grown to satisfy manufacturers’ requirements. I cannot accept that, reason in its entirety. Repeatedly have English managers of American plants made the statement that while American merinoes are good, Australian merinoes are better, .and if one wants a first-class ar- .. tide recourse must be made to meri*. no as grown in the Commonwealth. Thie is no fairy tale; and I maintain, particularly after the experience of the past few years, that Australian merinoes will be used more than ever, because more American spinners and manufacturers know' the manufacturing pro-' Serties of the wools grown “down un-v er.”

Not six months ago the writer warn in an office in a leading city in England whore a large American concern has opened a branch. I had the privilege or conversing with the American manager, who, handing me a good yard length of blue serge, said:- “"What do you think of that?” Ho then produced a yard of a Huddersfield made serge, and said that was the fabrics against which they wero trying to compete. He then remarked, “ What do you think is the difference between the two?” I instantlv replied that the American-made article handled distinctly harder and harsher than the blue serge made in Huddersfield. At once the manager concurred, stating that tlie difference was caused by the American fabric being put together a little more firmly, having two threads and two picks per inch more in the making. I accepted the statement that there might be two threads and two picks moro warp and weft-way of the fabric, hut I could not, and do not to-day accept the statement that that was solely responsible for the harsher handling of the American-made fabric. The Huddersfield cloth had been made entirely from Australian merino, and tlie other from American domestic merino, and the difference lay in the softer and mot* elastic nature of the Australian woo! compared with tlie American-grown material. American manufacturers are beginning to realise this; lienee I say that if American sheepmen are wise they will turn at' once to consider without prejudice tlie Australian merino studs which are to-day being called upon more than ever to supply pastor* alists with their breeding stock.