CLASSIFYING WOOL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3013, 9 October 1908, Page 6

CLASSIFYING WOOL.

. ♦ AN INTERESTING RE PO RT. WHERE MISTAKES ARE MADE. (By "Agricola.") The criticisms and pertinent remarks on the §?.l e and get up of New Zealand wool sold in keniion, at the hands of the. Bradford correfip'j»;^. n ,» io the "Weekly Press," and appearing regularly in that journal, are Si W3y s Qf interest to the wool grower, IStwljifipUl be Oarefu]ly perused,-for a great deal of u ! ?f,J ' knowledge can be gained from therii. ■••'" a * J P~ plies particularly to the correspo.:" I dent's recent letter appearing in this week's issue of the "Press," and from which I take the liberty of publishing some extracts. The full rapDrt should, however, be read by wool-growers in the Dominion, fov iSdfS&iriti edneei-nhig the want of proper classification, skirting and packing of fleeces demonstrates that wool badly got up for market suffers a very marked lowering in price as compared with well got up clips. It U pointed out that in the case of one clip the loss to the owner, through the pieces, bellies and locks being packed inside the fleeces, is estimated at not less than one penny per lb., i.e., on a 4001b bale of wool £1 12a 4d. Sheep-cwners who are accustomed to pack their wool with bellies and skirts attached to the fleece:? should take such remarks io . e,«. ,

SUUUIU wauc oucii »m"™"" *" • i and mend their ways. Onlv f*" the fault is their own, for thrugh a c-lasser is employed, he is not allowed to remove the bellies or take the necessary amount off the fleece in skirting. It will be gathered from the "Press" correspondent's letter that a great d"al of "well got up light-conditioned wool" was at the fourth series of sales purchased for the American market at satisfactory prices. The buyers from that quarter look askance at any clip which is heavy, curly and badly skirted, and *t WoOl-gr'fiw'erS of the Dominion wish to cater for that market they must exercise every care in preparing thendips. The following are the criticisms on the various clips:— "Sold by Chas. Balme and Co R.C.B. Here w=j had good 40's quality, ratner skirty. Crossbred comb H made 7fd, 7Jd, Imbs 6*d. J india, Eamscliffe. Fine xbd' crab 7£d, 7d, 6fd, lmbs 6£d. Heie was a useful clip, nice character, but wanteJ b3tter skirting. Waipango only made ' 7d for J-bd comb, 6£d for xbd do sd, pieces 4Jd. This clip skirty, spoiled by ng> NP Bar Wag in Rftd eon -ditlon for want of although the wool lfltae fcetag HA, 6&d and 6£d for e©m*Y Imbs s£d. Not a single bale tt£ bellies was catalogued out of 35 bales combing, AR Temunga was poor and dingy, though good length 40's quality, and likewise skirty, the top price being 6f d and 6Jd. When only one bale of pieces, 2 bales of bellies are made out of 27 bales of

ueiiicb ate iiwuc uui. vi. u ■ <j«.~- «- combing, it shows at once there is something wrong. MFD', Pine HiU clip. All the skirts being rolled in the flaeces, tliough showing nice 40's to 46 quality. I see written across' my catalogue "a good clip spoiled." The clip marked C-Bar was a vast contrast. It had been well classed and handled, as well as wool should be. The first lot of I bd comb made lOd, another lot BJd, xbd comb 7£d to 6Jd, Imbs 7£d, and pes 4|d. It was a sound attractive clip. .By Buxton Konald and Co.— G TB, Kohuroa, showed 40's to 44]s quality, nice average length, fair condition, but might have been better classed. The principal lot was 4G bales x-bred, which made 6£d, another little lot realised 7d. Halm Moon TW made 7|d for xbred,

another lot 7d, pes 4£d, lmbs 7Jd. Quality was about 44's, the clip being light, sound, well-grown, but skirty. DMG was short, stumpy and skirty, the result being that 6fd was the highest price paid for xbreds and bellies 4£d. Cottes-brook, St. Catherine's Wheel made 9Jd for the xbred, the same price for A xbd and B xbred 7£d. This was a good light little clip. Ngaio for greasy Shropshires made BJd. fine xbd Rom 7|d to6£d, xbd 7d, and pieces s£d. Thiswas a good big clip, but had not been handled as it might have been, the fleece wanting better skirting, otherwise the wools were wellgrown, sound and light. By Du Croz, Doxat and Co.—E H W H might have been better skirted, the halfbred only making 7Jd, while the principal lot of xbred only made 6d, because it was spoiled by the skirts being an. Manawa was a very light, clean, well-grown clip that benefited from American competition. The first Rom made B£d, second do 7Jd, first Lin 71d, xbred 6sd, and pieces s id. The first lot fetched a penny more than when they were offered on March 25th. Thomas and Cook are stepping to the front in a very remarkable manner, evidently specialising the sale of New Zealand wools. Bushlands H R showed a very creditable style of wool, nice length 40's to 46 quality, but skirty though fairly well grown. The first lot of xbred made 7£d lamb fetching 6gd. Woodlands D MK were grand wools, the first two lots making Sd, presumably for America, although only 40's quality, yet they were light, wellfrrown, and had been nicely got up. Ppkaraka were very similar in character American competition again securing the first two lots of 39 bales at Bd. Bell were nice average wools, light and well-grown, the first two lots of xbred making 7id. bellies 4d. Emerald Hills ranged all the way from 36's to 46*s, the varied lots being fairly well classed. The first thirty Lales of xbred made 7d, followed by 149 bales at 6id, bellies sd, lmbs 62:'. The old Kaputone wool came up smiling as usual in "scoured" state, the super making »OJd, bellies 19Jd. Jbied comb 17d, p-3 lGd. CTB, Mattonga, were far from being satisfactory, and the prices realised should teach the ovnertha salutary lesson to stop the practice of stuffing inside the pieces, locks, skirts and bellies. 1 calculate that the wool lost the owner a penny per lb, notwithstanding they wre well sold. The highest price was 6£d for rive bates ot greasy xbred another lot of four bales making 6*d, while 108 bales commanded only 61d. Then came a glorious clip marked Brancepeth | Prince of Wales F*j.tier?, and with keen American and Home trade comp p.M«?rtn, * fi-ppb'ht- «»p ti) he FPf'n. The first Jul of super una i ' a[lt^ i \ i f made 10Jd, another lot lOd, 9jd,

then followed the super fine xbred at lOid, lOd and 9Jd, first xbred BJd, Bd, and 7gd. r A xbred 6£-d, B do 6Jd, Jbied pes 6d xbred pes 6.fd, xbred bellies s£d, £bred lambs Hid, xbred do Bd. This was a superb clip throughout, being very stylish, well grown and of splendid character. I would specially say that in the opinion of all buyers there had been ' a distinct improvement in the method of getting up this big clip, when compared with a year ago. Last sea- ' SOn men? lY'? 1 '? many classes, and a reduction of thISS *« s >? n an advantage. T:hs Improvement was in evidence throughout, and in the opinion of all that I spoke to, the lots were very regular. It is possible to even over cJass as well as under. Tenakoe, vva'S & grand clip of super woo' > v e]J giWtf light, but the mnn t!i« cl?'J .V,ifj not sufficient knowledge of all the' <JtfsMies. This clip materially benefice" 1 Ar " er ?", can competition, and sood w f «/} is. The J bred sold at IUJd ai. v * f** and 7|d. Half-Moon D showed 4. v * j to 46's quality, but w'anted better classing for quality. The wool was fairly light and well grown, the first lot of xbred making 7Ad, followed by 6Rand s£d, bellies s£d. The lambs were a very good lot at Bd. Messrs Jacombs, Son and Co.—The second day catalogued , Acland the merino being fine, but fatty, and also a little irr.'gu'.ar i.i quality, the highest price for the grease v comb was 9d. DHK for the grease xbred fetched 7d for hoggets, and G|d for the ewes. . Lis was an average clip 36's to 44's, nit uj,nlwi hetter skirting, JO was

Hit, VMUntill ÜBIIKI Bllliuiiig. okj vkho a good well grown clip, sound, and nicdy classed. The first lot of fine xbred fetched B£d, Lin 7£d, xbred necks 6£d, Lin lmbs 6d. Messrs Williams and Overbury's first sale was a very superior lot, marked Half Moon CPD. It was reai American wool, several luts going to that quarter.' It was sound, light, and well classed, the *bred HW and E made lOd, and the xbreds making Bid and Bd. Bin heart, Elms, was a perfect clip as can be grown, the super . Abred comb E making ll&d, ?.bred comb E lid and 10& d, second do IOJd, fbred IOJd, gbred 9£d, and Leicester 9d. Such wools are a treat to see and a credit to any man. Messrs H. Irwell and Co. —L r ~. The first lot fine Rom xbred at 7£d, two more lots at 1 y n 6d. This was a good di though of no sp-^ lftifel:it in John t^ & mA Co , s _ first ga]e- ?. ap dip marked R and G in ' „..«in.lJfid L. Two lots of i bred comb f mM* lid and lOfid, xbred lOd, broken ! FE'i\ Homewood, sold up to lOd for xbred comb, and a very useful line it was. Double hearts—an old and respected clip, 10£ d being made both for super and first comb merino, there being no less than 24 lots of combing selling from IOJd to 7£d. The necks made 9£d, the clip ' throughout being decidedly creditable. 1 M. Buxton's sale. —New Zealand 1 wools figured prominently. HT, Galatea, made up to lOd for £bred \ wool, and good wools they were. • Bee sold up to lid for B xbreds, Ado ■ inn wpvprnl lots miner to Americs.

j.ua, several iuis gumg tu mucm-e. H. P. Hughes and Sons, in their first sales, had some very good lines of New Zealand wool. C. Otakaike, fetched 9£d, both for the merino and half bred, al) these wools being tip top. The best clip of all was C. Pind.iri, and here the Ist lot of 47 bales-of super comb merino made 12£ d, same price for do, while the Jbred merino made lljd. All these were excellent. Messrs Thomas and Cook, in their second sale, had the best show, of merinos during the whole series, cataloguing 6,770 bales of New Zealand. Taking the sale of New Zealand wool as a whole, they did well, considering the condition of the market. Anything selling at 9d or over received strong support of America, many of the lots going to that quarter. I have continually directed attention to the necessity of more care being exercised by sheep-farmers in the skirting, classing, and better packing o* their clips for market, and the criticism and strictures passed by the correspondent to the "Weekly Press" emphasises my contention that more should be done in this direction.