WOOL RESEARCH

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 257, 11 August 1934, Page 2

WOOL RESEARCH

THE PROBABLE PROCEDURE. COMMITTEES AND SUB-COM-MITTEES. (Special-to the "Guardian.") WELLINGTON, August 10. The probable procedure of the New Zealand Wool Research Committee tobe set up by the Government, and the ?-. general problems which will be considered in the research,, are set out in a statement supplied to the press by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The committee, which will consist of seven memioers, will be authorised to spend up to a quarter of the proceeds of the levy of 4d a bale for "scientific or industrial researches in relation to wool or sheep - conducted outside New Zealand" and to pay the remainder to the South Island and North Island sub-commit-tees. The main committee will outline a general programme of activity and allot this work, to avoid overlapping or undue effort. The members of the committee will receive no remuneration. The general problems which will probably be considered by the committee are:—. (1) An economic and technical survey. (2) Information on all details of production, trends in quality and quantity of wool yields as affected by environment, knowledge of wool production practices, international trends in demand, and changes in utilisation procedure. (3) The preparation of wool for marketing. (4) Researches into selection and breeding practices and their effects on wool quality and yield ; x problems of breeding under New Zealand conditions, sterility; experimentation in breeding. (5) Modes of inheritance of different characteristics of wool as a guide to breeders —hairiness, kemp, etc. (6) Experiments in breeding. (7) Nutrition; parasites, disease and management in relation to wool production. (8) Tests of cheaper branding fluids, dips, etc. j (9) New uses for wool. The Bill before Parliament at present is designed to provide for cooperation in an international scheme, for investigating problems of wool utilisation and publicity, and also to . examine certain diseases and nutrition problems which have been causing concern in Canterbury. In general, it is stated, sheepfarmers ; have been very individualistic and nar turally resentful of any suggestion that their wool is inferior. There is ample evidence, it is claimed, \ that there is room for improvement in the average clip, and while the pisition of v the finer crossbred wools is not generally considered serious, theirs is some definite anxiety regarding the demand at an economic price for many of our crossbred wools.

Sheep breeders should realise, says the statement, that the science of breeding is fast approaching a position of practical application. Developments in recent work on sex lineage in the inheritance of characteristics may have a profound effect on breeding practices while scientific advances in the knowledge of nutrition and dis- v ease problems are outstanding./ The main argument for the Bill, it is.said, is that of increasing world competition between textile fibres which indicates that if wool is to hold its position it must be made suitable for all the various manufacturing processes -and that further avenues of utilisation should be explored.