QUALITY OF N.Z. HIDES

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26514, 31 August 1951, Page 7

QUALITY OF N.Z. HIDES

CRITICISM SAID TO BE INVALID REPLY TO RESEARCH ASSOCIATION (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 28. A statement recently issued by the director of the New Zealand Leather and Shoe Research Association (Mr F. W Woodroffe,) criticising the quality of New Zealand hides avallab.e to shoe manufacturers has been challenged by Federated Farmers of New Zealand and British tanners. Mr Woodroffe had said that early killing of New Zealand cattle meant that tanners were receiving fewer matured hides. This was probably the reason for the widespread complaint that children’s footwear in this country would not stand up to wear. In Britain the position was different, be-1 cause tanners had a choice of maturer hides from such places as the Argentine. “I do not wish to express any opinion about the quality of New Zealand leather or footwear, but feel that it is necessary to say that Mr Woodroffe cannot Justly make the quality of hides produced in New Zealand the cause of complaints against the quality of New Zealand leather and lootwear,” said the secretary of the meat and wool produce section of Federated Farmers (Mr D. L. M. Martin) to-day. Mr Martin said that he had obtained a report from the representative of a group of British tanners on the merits of New Zealand hides that would answer Mr Woodroffe’s statement. The maturity of the hide had nothing to do with its qualities in leather, the report said. “Years ago. when families were large, the Argentine shipped heavy beef sides, the average weight being about 661 b.” said the report. “In the last 30 years, when the demand has, all been for babv beef, the average weight of the standard hides has come down to about 55-561 b. but the result obtained in leather has not varied by one iota.” British tanners said that New Zealand wet-salted hides were the only foreign hides they really favoured, and the only ones that could compare with their own domestic hides. “We infinitely prefer them to Argentina’s. Brazil’s. South Africa’s, and others,” the report added. "This is also borne out bv the fact' that in normal times good prices are always obtainable for New Zealand freezer hides on the Continent, as many tanners will not use any other hides as substitutes for them.”