WELLINGTON WOOL SALES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13622, 4 January 1910, Page 9

WELLINGTON WOOL SALES.

VERY SATISFACTORY PRICES. (jPfXTM, TO "THE *PB_«.""l WELLINGTON, January 8. 'So far as quantity goes, to-day's wool-sale established a record for Wellington, there being over twenty thaussaud- bales catalogued.. American and' Continental buyers were operating today, and generally there was keen competition, while prices were, higher than at last sale; Other earlier sates had practically cleared the market of tha lighter conditioned wools, and today's catalogues were mainly of the heavier and coarser types, co that the prices realised must be considered "very satisfactory. Bradford wools were in good request, and there was. also an .excellent demand- tor lambs' wool. first salesman cleared his 640 lots at the rate of one lot a second, the bidding starting for the nest lot as » ' rale before the auctioneer had time to call tha number- The "Wellington sales * have so grown in importance that there ■ is now an urgent necessity for larger and more concentrated storeroom for the display of tho wool. Buyers had to travel all oyer the city to see the wool.; One catalogue showed a list of J fcix different stores in which wool ws_ displayed, the said stores being separated by comparatively long distances. , Mr H. T. Milne, vice-president of the Buyers' Association,- and . a big buyer for Bradford and American houses, stated to a "Post" reporter that the display of wool by brokers had j shown a marked improvement. "The i v' wool hap been shown better than ever ! _ before," he added, "More storage, and ; that more central, will have to be provided. As it is, I have not been able! to visit one store. I had deferred doing so until yesterday, knowing that I misfct not be rtbie to get into the Government store, but F was unable to j see the wool in the private store.. Consequently I could not bid for it. The stores are distributed all over the place. No doubt brokers have been hard put * ''to find accommodation on account of the rapid growth of the local sales, but mor; salable storage room will . have to be provided if the buyers are |-. tc. give all their attention to the wool." Air Milne then referred to another mat. ter for which he said the brokers were in no way responsible. "The farmers itnpw far too much for us," he said « Ton tw* SO : «. r cent, of the wool offend in Wellington at this sale, 1 i wij guarantee that the wool inside >' w i' ?°* co *re»pono' with that outside. j -*wi tne fino strawherries are put on tha s top «. the basket. This fact will ao- <_, <-ount in a largo measure for my prices being rather low this time. Time and j r. time again I have seen some nice lots ] L ?} v *.°°l», An <~ ""hen I have examined % the inside of the bale, I have found : . it a penny a pound less in value. There i: was a lot >oH to-day at Bjd Now, I! & n_-lii. tt „ fc ?. n _ tho <«Wdeat9k,! _: of cotted and bnsh stained wool. Thero j V 33" Px-d- sourd, commercial wool ontr ajt-getber inferior type." j %\ \ <ra*EMASBOCTATTON TZl_oaiM.) J m} WELLINGTON, January 3. ! m X*»e second of the 1909-10 series of Wt- . wool sales was held to-day. TC Ther-jtalosues comprised 19,500 bales. *■*£ a record attendance of buy-» _. \':

ers, over fifty operators, including six or seven men new to the kcal sales, being present. The attendance of growers was the largest that has been Teen at a Wellington sale. The offerine would have been a record for the Dominion but for the holidays as there havo been several thousand bates shut out and these now await the February Se\ which mm* be a record offering for Wellington- The record sale for -Wellington •*••» that of January of _ la r year when 20,000 bales were offered, or about 2000 bales less than the fcew Zealand record, held by Christchurch. Last vcar's January sale was. held a week later than yestercay s sale. Had this veer's auction been arranged tor a corresponding date that offering would have been from 25,000 to oq 000 bales —a. New Zealand record. It was apparent from the outset-that buvere were operating with greater confidence than last month, reflecting the better feeling in manufacturing circles in regard to tho immediate future of the trade. Prices were fully _£ a pound higher than at the lo6t sale, and in several instances even higher than this. One line that was passed in at 9£d at tho last sale realised 102 d to-day; in another case 93d was the highest offer at the last sale, and the wool realised 10Jd to-day. Th* buying was practically confined to Yorkshire and Continental representatives. The range of wools suitable for America was small. Tho advance was in ordinary crossbreds, which represent the bulk of the wool grown in thi island. Tho great bulk of the wool was sold, the largest proportion oi passed-in lots on a catalogue being probably not more than 10 per cent. The condition of the wool was naturally heavier than at the last sale, and much heavier than at the first 6alo of the season. Wools in many cases were apparently cheaper on account of then* lower percentage of yield. Perhafs the most unsatisfactory feature of tflo catalogues was the large percentage of the limited amount of American wools, including lambs' wool, showing see 3. Time and again American valuers wet e attracted by a parcel, but finding said on the tips, were reluctantly compelled -to exclude it from consideration. .Although the Americans would not touch seedy wool, the Home a,nd Continental operators paid better money than formerly for it, owing to the improved method now in vogue—tho carhoniled process for effectively elin.inatini extl"ineous matter. For the same realon "pieces" have considerably appreciated' in value. A conspicuous feature |of the bidding was the comparatively high prices given by both French and Bradford operators, but principally tho former, for pieces and locks. The French section were the principal operator* in lambs' wool. >

■ The following is the range of prices: —Merinos IOJd to lid, halfbredsfHd' to 12j}d, superior fine crossbreds llfl to 12Jd, medium crossbreds 9Jd toflld, coarse crossbreds 8d to 9|d, inferior crossbreds 7}d to 83d, pieces and billies 6d to 9d, locks 3d to sd, lambs' wool, .superior lOd to Hid, medium .B£' to 9§d, inferior 7d to Bd. |