YELLOWING IN WOOL

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29952, 13 October 1962, Page 6

YELLOWING IN WOOL

The possibility that some veilowing of wool in New Zealand occurs through the baling of wet wool is to be investigated by the Wool Research Organisation in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture. This was announced in Christchurch

this week by the director of the organisation (Mr N. F. Roberts), who has arrived to lave in the province where the organisation's laboratories will be built. Mr Roberts said that it appeared to be an opinion held in the industry, particularly among growers and brokers, that the baling of wood when it was wet could lead to yellowing. The Department of Agriculture would make a series ot moisture determinations on various types of wood, and especially those grown in the Auckland area, where high rainfall often made it difficult to avoid shearing and bailing wool in a rather wet condition, said Mr Roberts.

The importance of yellowing in New Zealand wool had recently been emphasised by Dr. Gerald Laxer, formerly of the Wool Bureau in New York and now of the International Wool Secretariat. and Dr. D. A. Ross, of the Wool Research Organisation, who had recently completed a study of the use of New Zealand wool for carpets in the United States and Europe. Both had pointed out that yellowing led to difficulties in the United States carpet trade, where very light shades were the fashion. The yellow wool was unsuitable for certain Shades of carpet, and, having a poor light-fastness, the yellow colour led to fading troubles.

Mr Roberts said that samples of an improved lute pack developed to lessen jute contamination in wool bed been received from the Indian Central Jute Committee’s laboratories, and these would be tested by the Wool Industries Research Institute.