FAULTS IN SHEER BRANDING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 169, 22 August 1914, Page 2

FAULTS IN SHEER BRANDING.

HOW IT DAMAGES WOOL. The writer has always been deeply interested in everything appertaining to the practical details of wool-growing, because these really make up the technicalities of the subject, and have a very important bearing upon the later stages through which the raw material has to pass in the various processes of manufacture, and particularly upon the result attained in the finished fabric. The reader might very profitably take off his own coat and examine it carefully, thinking meanwhile that it is made more or less of wool, and considering also how much less satisfaction he would derive from wearing it if it were not so made up and had in its construction such material as made it look at least respectable, if not exactly fashionable in colour or general appearance. Or he might take note of the suits he sees other men wearing, and put himself through a similar mental drill. I have recently received from a wool firm in this country a most interesting sample of Australian scoured merino wool, in examining it I have been reminded very forcibly of Jacob's coat of many colours (w T liether that coat was really many coloured does not how matter), and if' I were judging it from the point of view of colour alone, should say that it is about the most valuable sample of wool I have evei seen. It is quite a picture, for in it there are no fewer than four or five colours and shades, all of which blend with the natural white of the wool in a most artistic fashion. The friend who has kindly sent me the sample says in his letter: —"I thought it might interest you to see a sample of what we are now receiving from some part of Australia. We consider it a very serious thing, and much worse than pitch, as it is a fast dye. We have taken the matter up with the brokers in London, and they are writingout. ''

The colours I have referred to are really the effects of some substance or other which has been .used for branding the sheep at s<?me time duririg,theperiod when the fleeces were growing. , The blending we have referred to has taken place only !too thoroughly, and is, of course, the result of the scouring process. This operation is intended to remove all grease, dirt, and other soluble superfluous-matter, .from the fleeces, ,a'nd it is quite probable that much of this colouring matter has actually been removed from the wool from which our sample was taken. But the effect of the scouring has been really remarkable, for whilst it has removed the grease in the ordinary way, the brand has been driven right into the centre of the fibre, and as°the firm says, has become a fast dye. There is no need for me to tell my readers that the marking of sheep is done on the surface of the fleece, the preparation used beiug simply applied with . a brush or a branding iron. Yet, in the samples I have before me.- the red, yellow, blue, and maroon colours are spread out among neai'ly the whole of the length of the fibres. Our -correspondent's statement about the trouble being worse than pitch is quite true, for whatever trouble or waste may be caused by the presence of such a substance, it does not penetrate the. wool deeply. It remains on the tips, and may be cut off by the sorter before the wool goes into the scouring. In this-case the user of tlie wool knows fairly well what he is doing, f-or'he ; 3ias'a very: -good idea when he is buying whether the fleeces are tarred or not, and he can value accordingly. While in dealing with it the sorter can take off the wool which contains the tar or pitch, so that the extent of the waste is known at once, and the other part of the fleece can be relied upon to be all right so • far as danger from injurious branding is concerned.

With this sample, however, it is quite different. My friends give me no details beyond those already quoted, and I take it that they bought the wool in question, and after having it scoured, found it to be in the state described. There is something really exasperating about this,, because the appearance of the wool has turned out to be deceitful. The assumption probably was that with the brand being on tjhe tips of the wool, and also of a colour which is usually known to scour out readily, it would cause no trouble later. For in-, stance, if the red colour had bfeen red oclire mixed with oil to make it >a little more permanent, all the wool ' would have scoured easily enough, and not a trace of the ochre would have been seen. But a close examination of the pieces of red wool shows that ordinary red ochre lias not been used. The colour is too deep a scarlet, and is more suggestive of a proper dye than anything else. I feel anxious to know what has been really used, for whatever the substance is it is certainly most objectionable. It goes without saying that any wool branded in this way is entirely useless for white goods, or for any fabric of even colour. To form an opinion *of a bulk lot is not an easy matter when orue has only a small sample to look at, but the one we have is of nice combing length, and is of a very useful type. It is greatly to be regretted that good usable wool should be spoiled in this way, and would suggest to all growers that they abandon the use of any branding preparation unless they know that it can be removed from the wool in scouring. This is a question which is quite apart from quality, condition, or any other feature of a clip. For some classes of wool the presence of all the colours of the rainbow would not matter, but growers of fine wools particularly need to turn out a fleece which is clean in every respect, while in all cases the presence of tar or pitch is nothing less than an abomination.

It seems somewhat remarkable that though America has not yet won for

herself the reputation of being the leading woolgrowing country in the world, the greatest efforts are being made there at the present time to produce a sheep brand which, while sufficiently permanent for all practical purposes, will not damage the wool from a manufacturer's standpoint. It seems to have been realised that when wool is once really damaged it is damaged permanand no treatment afterwards can remedy the evil. This is the real reason why we have been thinking so seriously about this subject, for it shows that a large amount of waste is caused when any raw material is so treated that it cannot be xised in the manufacturing process. With this idea in mind, experimenters in America have been trying to bring out a suitable brand for marking sheep. How far they have been succesful we are not able to say, though they claim to have discovered a preparation whieh answers all practical purposes. It is said that it adheres to the w : ool for a long time, and yet can be readily scoured out. Personally, I see no reason why this should not be the case, for the word permanent as applied to a sheep brand is a somewhat exaggerated one, this being the case for one or two reasons. First of all, even if the brand had become indistinct, there would not be much difficulty in renewing it,, and the treatment which the sheep receive is such that there would ba no inconvenience in doing so. Quite a differeut brand is required when the sheep have been growing tlieii' wool for about half the season, from what is most suitable when they are newly shorn. Therefore,v we think there should be no difficulty whatever in finding out a preparation which will be permanent, enough for, say, a period of six months.

We understand that there are other preparations on the market which are said to be quite suitable for branding sheep, and yet which do not injure the wool in any way. Yet those who are interested in sheep and wool in America seem to be taking a considerable interest in the subject, and I think Australian sheepmen will b6 well advised to adopt any . preparation which may be brought to their notice, or else make one of their own. We must strongly emphasise the fact that when wool has become damaged in any way it cannot be brought;back to its origi : ual state. Whatever may be done in the way of inventing a good sheep brand, it is absolutely certain that nothing ean be done to restore the wool which has once been spoiled byone which is unsatisfactory. .The only thing that can; be ! done ; with a spoilt wool is to use it : for some l inferior i purpose, and when a good price has been paid for the raw material, with the object of using it for producing better class goods, it is at once apparent that the manufacturer is suffering a serious toss. He might just as well have bought inferior JY9.9) a,t tlije as buy wool which appeal's suitable*'for'a better purpose, but -turus out to be of less value.

But there is one more question which arises. ' Is it possible on the part, of Australasian pastoralists to do without 'branding sheep at all? It is no uncommon thing in the catalogues in connection with the London sales, and I expect the same will obtain in Australia, to see underneath the brand the statement, ' 1 no tar used,'' and this at once begets confidence on the part of buyers. Even if the ordinary black tar is used, it'never comes out in the scouring operation',- and I have heard 1 flannel manufacturers say what trouble, injury, and loss is caused by it in white flannels. The reader has only to think for a moment to see that when'a white garment is made it is not nice to have the article spoiled with black tar lumps, even though; they may not be larger than a pin head. Many pieces are rejected during the course of a year, and have to be sold at under cost price because one or two fleeces liave escaped the eyes of the sorter, ancj have consequently got mixed up in the process of scouring. When once they get through the scouring bowl, the small bits of wool cannot be detected till they come up again in the cloth, when they are clearly seen* I believe there is on the market in Australia a branding liquid which is said to be soluble in hot water and soap, and if so, would urge all growers to use it. —S. B. Hollings.