EDITORIAL FARM NOTES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10148, 22 September 1898, Page 3

EDITORIAL FARM NOTES.

" WecJilv Press and Referee."

THE 1897-98 WOOL SEASON.

I We iinve received irom mc ->ew /,eaumu Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, their annual review of the Christ- ! church wool, grain, and stock markets, and !it contains a large amount of interesting ; information for farmers and pastoralists. '. It is satisfactory to find that notwithi standing the fact that we have had two " exceptionally adverse seasons in succession, ■ the production of wool in the province has ■ shown a considerable expansion. The total I number of bales sold at the Cliristchurch : sales in 1596-97 was 26.109, and in 1897-98 ' 26.535. an increase of 476 bales. The total ■ shipments ia 1896-97 were 68,339. and in ' 1897-98, 70,527, an increase of 2188 bales. !In dealing with the Home market the review points *>ut that one of the most remarkable features of the trade is the enormous increase in the proportion of crossbred wools from New Zealand and Australia, catalogued at the London sales. In 1888 the Quantity was : —From Australia 54,200 bales \ New Zealand, 171,000; 1891—Australia, 57,700; New Zealand, 213,500; 1893-Australia, 72 ? 000; New Zealand, 273,000; 1896—Australia, 108,000; New Zealand, 298,000 ; 1897 — Australia, 1*3,000; New Zealand, 131,700, or a total increase from 225,200 bales in 1888 to 435,200 bales in 1897. This change in the ; character of the wool placed on the Home i market is largely due to the development of the colonial frozen meat trade, which has encouraged a phenomenal expansion in the breeding of mutton producing classes of shesp. It is also pointed out that : the offerings at t3ie four series of sales held in London this year ■amounted to 859,000 bales, as compared with 1,125,300 bales for the same period last year, a decrease of 266,300 bales. This shrinkage in supplies undoubtedly helped to maintain prices in face of the almost total cessation of American buying. The American purchase from January to July, 1897, were 166,000' bales, and for the same period of 1898, 10,000 bales, a decrease of 150,000 bales. The wool passed in this year has been chiefly coarse, and inferior crossbred, which are the classes least in demand and in fullest supply. Owing, as we ponted out recently, to the disappointing out-turn on manufacture of much of the eai'ly portion of the 1897-98 clip purchased in the grease, buyers have this season been more inclined to supply their requirements by purchasing scoured parcels. Another reason for this preference has also been stated, viz., that scouring in the colonies is now much more thoroughly and carefully done than was the case a few years ago. It would therefore appear, says the Review, that the policy followed by many colonial growers of disposing of their greasy wool at the colonial local sales and shipping their scoured for realisation in London, is based on sound principles. TKEPABING WOOL FOB THE MAKKET. The Review from which we have been quoting contains some useful hints and instructions to sheep farmers regarding the preparation of their wool for the market. The classing of wool, it is pointed out, should be as distinct as it is possible to make it without cutting it up into too many small lots. After separating the different classes of wool, that is, merino, half-bred (meaning fine crossbred), crossbred, and longwools, the best subdivisions for ordinary sized clips will jprpbably be found to be., something as follows:—1. FirstiJeece includes best wool. 2. Second fleece includes medium clean. 3. Dingy and sandy fleece includes faulty and inferior. 4. First pieces includes clean. 5. Second pieces includes stained and inferior. 6. Bellies, and l<, locks. The mixing of ■wool in bales should be avoided as buyers are apt to base their valuations on the lower quality they contain. Every bale should be clearly branded .with-the description of the class of wool it contains, in addition to the station or farm brand. The use of tar in branding sheep should not on any account be allowed, as the stain spreads in scouring, and the wool is injured in its value for manufacturing purposes. There, are good, economical and reliable branding oils and paints on the market, the use of which causes no injury to the wool. Wβ have frequestly had to condemn the use of tar for branding sheep and have pointed out that in the case of sheep slaughtered buyers of skins will make an allowance of fully sixpence ofl the value of each skin that bears a tar brand. And of course shorn wool must be affected to a similar if not-greater extent. It is unnecessary to tie fleeces with string or flax, as the manufacturers much prefer the fleeces simply rolled, as is now the usual custom. The attention of wool-growers is also called to the injury done to their clips by the presence of pieces of skin cut with the fleece. This complaint ot careless shearing will probably be less heard of in the-future, as machine shearing becomes more general; but meanwhile those who get their shearing done by hand should bear it in mind. The Review, while deprecating too heavy skirting, urges that sheep farmers should remove from their fleece wool all dags and stained fringes, and a little more care in this direction would amply repay the extra care and watchfulness required. SELLING ON , SAMPLE . BALES. The following piece of information . is given in the same publication for the "information of wool-growers:—Owing lb the dissatisfaction expressed by some of the buyers at last season's sales at the want of some rule to regulate the number of bales to be shown as a sample of a large lot of ■wool, the Brokers' and Buyers' Associations have agreed that only clips which have been classed by an expert or professional classer, shall be shown by sample bales; with small clips, the whole number of bales of each lot shall be open and available for inspection and valuation before the sale, and even in station clips it is recommended that all the bales of pieces, bellies and locks, should be shown. For professionally classed station clips, the following is the proportion of bales to be shown as samples:—2 bales to be shown in lots of 6 to 8 bales, 3 ditto 9 to 12 bales, 4 ditto 13 to 20 bales, 5 ditto 21 to 50 bales, 6 ditto 31 bales and over.