U.S. Authority Urges Core Testing Of Wool

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30288, 14 November 1963, Page 26

U.S. Authority Urges Core Testing Of Wool

A belief that the sale of wool would be facilitated by the use of core testing for yield and methods of assessing fibre fineness and staple length was expressed in Christchurch by an authority on wool processing , Dr. Werner von Bergen, who is a consultant to J. P. Stevens and Company, one of the largest, textile organisations in the United States. Twenty per cent of the organisation’s 52 plants are engaged in woollen manufacturing and represent the largest woollen and worsted manufacturing organisation in the country. Dr. von Bergen said that the fact that world wool production had risen from 4 billion pounds in 1950 to 5.6 billion pounds in 1960 —a 40 per cent increase in 10 years—was clear proof ot the vitality of the wool industry. He had no doubts that under modem systems of farming it would be possible to go on increasing production, and he saw no reason why all the wool produced should not be used, but for wool to maintain its position it was vital that the latest and best knowledge and research should be used at every stage of production from the farm onwards and the whole process had to be kept under continuous critical scrutiny. Classification One of the most necessary developments was in the improved classification of wool for marketing. The present system of wool marketing depended on visual appraisal of the wool, but in the United States it had been proved that a more satisfactory method of assessing yield was by core testing, which had been used successfully since 1940 in assessing yield of all imported wool and was being increasingly used by the domestic wool trade. It was of advantage to the farmer in giving him a true picture of the yield of his wool and helped to ensure that he would get a fair price for his product. It had been found that with visual judging of wool there was a mar-

fin of error plus or minus per cent

It wos the characteristic of some wools to give an unduly high yield under visual assessment and tor others to give an excessively low yield. In the else ot core testing this margin had been reduced to plus or minus half a per cent.

As well as being of advantage to the grower core testing also was a big help to the buyer. It helped to take the guesswork out of assessing yield and if the yield was rfx>wn on the catalogue against the wool it would speed up his work. Dr. von Bergen suggested that in New Zealand the work of core testing might be taken over by a Government agency such as the Department of Agriculture. It could be done in the wool store at the time that the wool was being weighed in over the scales—it took only a few seconds to take the cores—or in the case of New Zealand where such a large amount of wool was bulk classed he said that it might be done in stores when the wool was bulk classed. On the basis of his experience in his own organisation Dr. von Bergen said that the labour of one man for a year would be required for the core testing of 30,000 bales. His operator had provided details of yield, fineness and vegetable matter content. Figures of cost could, however, be obtained from the United States Treasury.

Dr. von Bergen said that further steps in the same direction were determination of fibre fineness or diameter by air flow methods. All trade in tops in the United States was now done on micron testing for diameter and all progressive mills used fibre measurement as a necessary part of control ot their processing. The United States Department of Agriculture also had simple methods of measuring the length of the staple. Dr. von Bergen said that one of the advantages of

man-made fibres was their standard specifications which made it possible for the buyer to know exactly what he was getting. Core testing for yield, fineness determinations and length measurements all tended to give similar advantages to wool. He said it was probably only economic to core test lots of 25 bales or more and for that reason the introduction of core testing might mean the tendency to eliminate small lots of bales from the auction floor. This would result in a reduction of costs in the stores and the high costs of getting up small lots of bales which were inevitably handed on to the grower.

There could also be savings of costs in mills where sometimes a sample ot the wool had to be taken out for a pre-manuflacturing trial to check on the yield. This was much more costly than an initial core test. In addition there could be savings in mills in sorting where fineness measurements were available. Dr. von Bergen saw New Zealand fleece wool at a North Island show. He said that he had been impressed by the beautiful colour of the wool, its freedom from vegetable matter and black hairs. It had been a joy to see that kind of wool, he said. In Auckland he was surprised to find a mill making carpets out of 100 per cent New Zealand wool. Up until now, he said, most people had said it was not possible to make good carpets out of New Zealand wool alone—it had to be mixed with unimproved wool. At this factory they were making a coarser yarn out of the wool to produce quite a good pile. Noting that work was proceeding at Massey College on a sheep which would give a true carpet wool, Dr. von Bergen said it seemed that the possibilities of making carpets out of the coarser Romney wools at present available should perhaps be examined.

To compete against the price of the cheaper carpets, even New Zealand mills were using artificial fibres, he said, and it had to be recognised that blends bad come to stay, but the superiority of wool as part of the blend should always be emphasised. These advantages included greater springiness and softness of wool and its less inflammable characteristics. Dr. von Bergen, who graduated as a chemist from a technical college in Switzerland in 1916, has been connected with the woollen industry since 1919. He was formerly associate director of research for J. P. Stevens and Company and is still consultant to this company though he retired from active work last year. For 10 years he taught woollen manufacturing at Columbia University and he was a member of the United States Department of Agriculture wool advisory committee from 1951 to 1959. He is the holder of the Olney medal of the Americri Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists and the Harold De Witt Smith medal of the American Society for Testing Materials, He is also a Fellow of the Textile Institute, England, and of the Society of Dyers and Colourists, England. The author of more than 50 publications, at present, in the course of a world tour, he is preparing a volume of “The Wool Handbook,” which deals with the manufacturing side of the wool industry.