OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Otago Witness, Issue 2896, 15 September 1909, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

(Fhom Ouh Special Cobkespondent.) POINTS OF IMPORTANCE TO WOOLGROWERS. BRADFORD, July 30. We have now got to the time of the year when, m the natural order of things, slack markets and little doing can be expected We are juet now entering upon the great holiday period, and if we see anything approaching activity it will be a strange phenomenon. Still, I have known active markets in August, and when the heads of wool finms .have considered it expedient to stop at home. As far as one can diagnose the immediate future there is little likelihood of August producing a time of brisk business, but it is certain this last 10 days more interest has been manifested in merinos in particular, and the business done is larger than many think. When I hear firms candidly stating that they have sold 500 packs, others 600 to 1000, it is proof positive that spinners have been buying, and that they must have sokl more yarns and covered same. This is exactly what has taken place. The recent course of London sales convinced both spinners and manufacturers that with tops having come down all about a psnny per lb, and with gocd greasy combing wool selling at practically May sales' rates, was sufficient) to convince che most sceptical that s,uch an anomaly could not exist indefinitely, and that before long such a condition of things would be rectified. WOOL THROUGH THF MILL. I have often thought that growers care very little into what their wool is made so long as they obtain good prices for the same. At this end of the trade it is a case of familiarity breeding contempt, tho Me of the factory being just as commonplace to a large number as is the daily routine of going round the paddocks ard looking over a flock of sheep. But wb*n a man has bought a lot of wool, then ivegins the real interesting part of the trade. There is the sorting, Kcouring, combing, spinning weaving, dyeing, and finishing-all interesting processes, thro.igh which wool goes before it reaches the wearer's back. The trade in yarns and pieces is just as big as it is in the raw material, and but for t3ie former the latter -would be very little use. It :s indeed highly scientifio that the small fibres protruding from the skin of a sheop can be taken, and with automatic manipulations lie ao operated upon that these small lifeless particles can be twisted together, and so produce a uniform thread. Yet that is what is done in hundreds of mills in the world every working day of the year, and so the big wool industry is continued year in year out, and .will be when both writer and reader moves off the stage of aation. «c All know that serges and tweeds, coatings and dress fabrics cannot be made with out warp and weft, and it is from the raw material that all these indispensable commodities are obtained. Hence arises the importance of always having a valuable and, 1 was going to say, an inexhaustible suddlv of raw wool, this really being the foundation of the whole textile industry r f Uie w oriel . I CAN QUALITIES BE CHANGED? As I bave been writing the previous paragraph the question has arisen in my mind I Can qualities be improved? This ii an i important item, and perhaps of more direct ! importance to the manufacture.- tr.an the ' grower. At the same time, I am satisfied ! that even to producers of the raw material there is a side to this question which is of i direct importance e\en to them. Tlie ftct is significant that the quality of wool is determined solely by the breed of sheep and climatic conditions, and once the fleece is grown there ie no power on eurth to ohange it in any feature. Good 60's merino wool is the same on the sheep's back as it is m the woven piece, and vice ven>a. Of course,- the greasy, unpresentable article to the uninitiated may look a queer conglomeration of material, and by the diflbrent processes of manufacture it oan be made to present a more taking appearance, but an the same there js just the came quality of wool when the fabric is finished and on the wearer's back as there was when the fleece was shorn. There is no known proee=» by whidi a wool fibre can be impro\ed either in quality, strength, or lenpth of staple as ,t passes through the different machinery as it is bcin? scoured, combed, spun, and woven, the whole trade homy entirely dependent upon the sheep-farmer to produce good material. Has it ever been considered by the wool-grower what it means to the manufacturer when his clip is badly grown, tend«r, and deficient in staple? In the first instance it means a distinctly less prica m the saleroom, moro loss in every departmsnt of manufacture, and inferior gcock at the finish. In other words, it is impossible to " doctor " the raw material, and if there is any deficiency in the grown staple it cat? no more be hid t-han a broken nose on a" man's face. This question of quality and character is one of Srst importance to the wool-grower, and it Jf>serv<vs all the attention that men of brains and ability can bestow upon the art and science of sheep-breeding and wool-growing. WEAKNESS IN COARSE CROSSBREDS. The position of crossbreds Is rather momalous, and. to e*y the leaf., there is x>t that show of life which one could de>ire. A steady trade seems to be doing in i'veh qualities as 50's, 56's, 58's, and comeJick tops, but anything below 48*6 is very lisappointing. What I cannot understand s that some fair weights of cased fleeces ir* se-llinj, but tops cannot be shifted at .

r ' all. Perhaps as pronounced feature as anj . is the expectation of further selling r< i America when the holiday season gefa t through. Nobody expects to see very muei r done during August, but, all the 6ame : holders of the raw material are fully cogni 3 sant of the fact that a good long time has . yet to elapse before any weight of the next New Zealand crossbred clip will be avail- ' able, and anything oan happen between row • and the middle of next January. If the ( , latest American cables are anything to go j by, then any week further buying can begin . in Bradford, and as far as one can see r America has not bought more wool than it can comfortably deal with, notwithstanding that its purchases have been oonsider- ; able. It is very difficult to say whether tho i present sales of crossbred fleeces are being ; made outright on American account, or , whether the regular shipping houses are , operating by way of speculation; but be , that as it may the fact nevertheless remains that wool is quietly changing hands both in 40 l s, 44's, 46's, and 48's fleeces. Aa already sfiid, tops are practically a dead letter, and gocd 40 f3f 3 can be bought anywhere from 12d to 12|d, according to style and character. Some bold topmakers profess they are firm at 13d, and all hope their , attitude will be rewarded by making such j a price. It is not too much to hope that ! the cheapness of coarse orossbreds when j compared with merinos will command the public support which they are deserving, and certainly strong qualities are very reasonable indeed. | MDLLS BUSY. I Talcing a broad survey of manufacturing , conditions in the West Riding, trade can . be spoken of as fairly good, machinery is ■ well employed, and in some districts over- . time is fairly general. Here and there one meets with a chronic calamity howler, who says they are not busy simply because th&y are not running till 8 p.m. Taking things as a whole, there is not much to complain about, and so far there are few signs to lead one to expect any falling off in trade for the icomung winter. Most mills have all their machinery running, and I know a case where a leading manufacturer just outside Leeds recently had occasion to raake a tour to neighbouring mills trying to engaga scribbling and spinning machinery, and it was only in the Yeadon district that he waa able to find accommodation. The consumption of fine worsted yarns is un- ! questionably expanding, and here we have j one important reason why merino wool is j meeting with such popular demand, and being so largely consumed. I was talking the other day to one living in Dcwsbury, and whose business it is to go round both that city and Datley every week, and he , stated emphatically that business has sensibly improved during the past six weeks. I am satisfied from what I actually know of the present condition of the wooflen and worsted trades that if consumption is maintained at the present rate through the coming winter little fear need be left over the course of merino wool prices. The only unsatisfactory feature of Hie textileindustry to-day is the lack q£ briskness in crossbred departments. Notwithstanding the ohronio complaints most crossbred spinners have all their frames going on one count or another, but I am afraid there are too , many at present spinning to stock. Spinners have plenty of orders on their books, but what they lack are particulars, and this is the xuisatisfactory aspect of the trade.