CANTERBURY TWOPENY EXHIBITION.

Patea Mail, 25 January 1882, Page 3

CANTERBURY TWOPENY EXHIBITION.

i The Times says Christchurch has been covered with disgrace by some of her ; citizens, who have hot mind enough to j rise above narrow prejudices. .Bushels jof letters have appeared in the papers | which would lead . a stranger ;to ■imagine that the proposed' l . International j Exhibition is a show partly of dangerous ■wild boasts which cannot be retained in j captivity, partly o£ explosives which- are i certain to go off, and partly of noxious ; '(disease germs which are safe to develop [into devastating plagues. ; . If Mr '.Twopeny is ,a sensible man he, >yill I simply shake the dust of Christchurch [from his shoesj and proceed to Dunedin,: ■where he is sure to be welcomed with iopen armsj and possibly a subsidy.

CLASSIFYING WOOL. Before classing, says a writer in the Town and Country, the fleeces are rolled and tied, then placed on a table or bench so that the classer can examine the fleeces before they are put into the different compartments set apart for the several. classes ; and as some classers have to examine 2000 or 3000. fleeces a day, they have consequently very little time to take care how the wool is sorted. I have frequently noticed inferior fleeces that have been so ' classed that ■ they would, if noticed, completely spoil the sale of a large clip. My idea is that if the sheep were classed before shearing, in a rough way by drafting, it would help the wool-classers a great deal. And in my experience I find it a great benefit to class the wool on the sheep’s back, as in the shed you only can go by the fineness and length, whereas on the sheep it can be classed by the feel of the wool and the density of the fleece. In classing wool, there are three sorts in particular, that want keeping separate.; First, coarse fleeces, such as those with tendency to coarseness ; second, any fleeces that are not long in the staple,, and are inclined to be weak or silky ; third, long staple fleece or combing wool. These three classes can again be divided into different sorts, but on a small place of 8000 or 4000 sheep it is not advisable to class the wool into too small lots, for buyers like a mediumsized lot. As regards skirting, every fleece should have the belly, thighs, and head wool taken off. In the clips small lots of sheep (3000 or 4000) I have seen the belly wool put into the middle with advantage. When there are only one or two bales of bellies, they generally bring a low price. The stained pieces and any. burry parts should of course come out, as, in no matter what sized clip, they will, if detected with other wool, reduce the price.