OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 219, 9 June 1908, Page 10

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

SOUTH AFRICAN WO'OLS. . ■A- FOEWAED MOVEMENT'AND WHAT IT MEANS;,, . r (FEOM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ) • # Bradford, April 17. There nevefr. was a time in the -history of, the trade., vvhen; South ? African wools- com-} manded more attention,/and when that part of the world's wool-growing area was being more looked to to make a forward move. The writer has followed the course of Cape wools for a life time, and had a direct' family experience of handling and working them ,up for over fifty years. When hut a lad i bave heard my father' speak of the deficiencies'* of Cape , wools, and more especially the deception practised by farmers in. preparing'their'clips for' market.' Not .until the last t?wo .years has' South Africa put off its slovenly methods' andiits air of contentment with, old-time practices of. woolgrowing and wool preparation for market, and- at last the light is undoubtedly breaking upon that backward domain of England's crown. For years I have written''continuously about, the deficiencies of Capo wools, and;, one rejoices that a little fruit is beginning to appear on this barren soil: " I don't for ,a moment, think that South Africa will ever turn out wools, on the average equal to. the: ,merino 'of Australia,' but there is room for a/vast'improvement, and with better sheep, better methods'of working, and a more- up-to-cfate system of handling the shorn clip, a vast' improvement. is. bound .to result.- -After all,- country and "climate ' are important*factors in \determining the character of r a clip of wool, but/it. is surprising what .can be done in the way oft assisting nature arid'producing' tjhose 'crops which turn out 'good l;shcep. and saleable, wool;. 'ft •'•/.

BETTER WOOLS THAN EVER. It. is some satisfaction to'be/able'to'(say ■ that from Cape Colony.Especially botter wools have been'sent to the , Loudon market during the'past six months'than wo have ever seen, and. this; is as jit : 6h6.uM';'be/'-''-'Tho work -tli'at : the Agricultural Department is doing, and especially the instruction of those whose business it is to show farmers the best methods of preparing their clips for market in Australian fashion, is bearing: good fruit. Ihavo : long; said that tho bundling' into .the bales of the skirts and bellies was a huge mistake, and that such practices would always disgrace Cape wools as long as. ever they were adopted. The country storekeepers, who 'evidently "have other fish to fry," may not discriminate'between a good clip and a poor one. and'give the same price for both alike, but the woof once this side the Equator ceases to be looked upon through the same spectacles,! arid: to the European buyer every, parcel has •• its valuo determined on a "clean yield" basis. Heavy skirts and bellies never,; were satisfactory, material for combing' or 1 and never will be. The day is riot far distant when that grower of wool who will _ practice such obsolete' methods will find his clip'either totally unsaleable, or selling ; at the, price, of an old song,, for nobody wants heavy wast,v i material that is better left out of a blend of wool. At. the recent series *of London sales we had a magnificent illustration of what good wool means, and the March series, also furnished a practical proof of the poor prices bid for wools, that were short,, heavy, /and wasty to a degree. The former saw every Capo buyer, and many more beside, practically interested in some tip-top clips, ivhile the competition for the heavy, skirty, six- months' wool was confined to two or three who wanted the wools at their own price. , . . ■ ' . AN INTERESTING LETTER. • . ■

I am always pleased to welcome a woolgrower from any. part of the world," for we have many interests in\ common. ■- A; wellknown Kaffrarian sheep farmer was over -in England a good year ago, and I showed him round London sales two or three times, besides giving him a lesson or two ■„ on th() methods adopted in preparing wools for market. ' Not long ago I received a letter, from him-respecting-tho sale of his last clip, which read as follows:—"I sold my clip today, and know you will bo interested in hearing what I got for it. -. I had 87 bales, and the following, are the sale results: 14 bales hoggets; 113 d.; 54 bales (ten months), combing, 103 d.; 8 bales bellies, 73d.; G bales shorter clothing, 9Jd.; and 7 bales locks, 4£d. I wascomplimented by all tho East London buyers on the way I had got it up, and Vl'feel that this is the result of the pleasant and profitable time I spent with you. Until I started handling tho fleeces on the skirting table I did not realise how much you had taught mo. I know now that- while I have a lot of wool well' up to the mark of ordinary Australian, I have some heavy, short, stapled fleece . I must get rid of, and ( I mean to do this by keeping my young wethers, and selling the unprofitable ewes until I have got my clip up to the desired standard;" I quote the above simply to show what can be done with care and attention, for this farmer lias had to fight against a life-long practice cif shearing twice a year and putting everything into tho bale. ; No 'doubt it is a struggle, but I havo always maintained that what' Australian squatters do to-day South African sheep farmers can adopt'to-morrow wi.thopt tile least fear of making a mistake. It is only a question of a few years' p'ractico~ at the most when a farmer, having bnco seen tho benefits accruing from skirting his fleece properly, will always adopt this method. SOME EXCELLENT CLIPS.

At the March, series of London sales thero was sold some 13 farmers' clips which on tho second day of the series commanded a good deal of attention. These wools had been specially 'classed in Australian fashion, Vand they created more attention than I have seen for some years past. Everybody seemed to be in the gangway, valuing them, and they worn typical farmers' clips, got up in a smart and up-to-date way. Generally speaking there woro two lots of combing, then the broken, bellies, and lambs, just sufficient lots having been mado to cover tho different parts of a properly skirted floece. Naturally some combing wools are worth a penny more than other fleeces of the Bame floclc, simply because of tho better growth and lighter condition, and these should always bo put to themselves and baled separately as a super-combing lot. A word of praiso can bo given to overy farmer who commanded 9d. and over for his combing lots, while the clip that sold for lid. deserves- a special word of commendation. Prom. first to last the most had been mado of tho wools, and overy woolgrower, no matter whore ho lives, should do At one stroko these farmers' clips havo risen to notoriety, simply because such wools are tho exception and not ,tho rule from South Africa, Let tho-mmo and

similar wools come to be offered in tho future, and prepared for market and catalogued in the same way, and wool -'.buyers ' will inspect them with interest, value with confidence, and purchaso same fully satisfied that there has been no "faking" of tho clips. Had theso wools been up in London last' October they would havo realised 2d. to 3d. per lb. more. Unfortunately they met'the worst series of sales that we have had since 1900, but for all that Messrs.' Thomas and Cook are to be complimented for the ablo way they handled tho clips, and tho very full market prices which they were able to command at. the hands of buyers. A GOOD NAME STILL THE BEST ASSET. While in London at the March series of sales I attended tho full committee meeting oil tho big question of vegetable matter in wool. The chairman was the Lord Mayor of Bradford (Mr. E. Eawcett), the head of an important firm of wool merchants and topmakors in Worstedopolis. The. question of who should pay far any new wool tares came up, and comnieuting upon the character of wool clips generally he made use of this significant expression: "A good name is still the best asset for any clip of wool," and he was right. There are Australian" squatters who have got a name for their clip which no man can assess its true value, and it counts for much in the sale of the parcel when the clip stands high in the estimation of buyers. A single buyer has left home in thousands of instances to be present at a' particular sale when he knew that such and such a clip was to be catalogued. What made him go at that particular time? It is reasonable to'assume that ho could haye filled all. his requirements at some other part of the series, but no, he must go when that particular brand was to be offered. The whole and sole reason for his • doing this was tho fact that that man had tested the manufacturing abilities of that particular mark; it had' Been well got up, ana knowing how well ■it had answered, he will continue to buy it in the future, no matter what tho prfe. growers everywhere,- both at .Home, in Aus- ! tralasia, and the Cape learri the lesson that a good name is everything to a clip of wool, and-this can only be go"t by producing a firstclass article, and getting up the same for mariket in a real business like way. Shady methods never did pay in the wool trade, and never will, and in times of depression like the present it will be found that it is a most valuable asset when a clip comes to be offered that has proved well in .the-past.- • ■

FURTHER WEAKNESS. Once raoro there is further weakness.in the Bradford market, and.the dry rot is not yet stopped. The situation here is painfully slack, ana nothing but pronounced depression pre-, •vails. The slightly better feeling .'of a good week ago is f completely off, and. everything is again on'the downward grade. .Good super GO's tops can .be'obtained.jn,any ; quantity' at' 22d., and one topmaker is-stepping over, another iu order to sales, each one making a lower record. The sales iwhich are taking place are as much forced as anything, arid unquestionably " the financial. situation is giving cause for serious concern. It is very painful to seo the money that is at present being lost, ■ and to make a profit on wool, bought anywhere is almost unheard' of. 1 crossbreds, things aro decidedly worse,- and 9d. "and under has been accepted for a-very good iO's—one of tho best on the market. There is a,tendency let things go if a holder can get the chance, and everything points to still loirerj-'prices. It is really distressing, to find business so difficult to do, and to see every sale failing to realiso anything, like cost price. Therq is an absolute lack of confidence, and tho approaohing holidays , are being looked forward to with real pleasure as likely to afford a little relief from the depressing circumstances of the last three months. . Machinery is being kept going in the majority ; of cases, ..though short time is becoming more general with crossbred spinners. Plenty of mills are shutting down on tho evo iof Good Friday not to re-open again till tho middle of next week, while some' are actually playing a whole'.week. Tho feeling generally is very much less hopeful than it was, and there I 'is no accession whatever of new business. The Continent affords no encouragement to, export houses, and instead of.\ orders, "thero is even an absence of particulars, on old contracts. Reports from abroad are ho better, with the o'xeeption of America, and during tho past week a few'sales'of good'colonial wools ranging from li's to 50's have been made. United States buyers look more like business, and a move in that quarter would soon have very beneficial effects upon' every other centre. Mohair."is. likew,ise v .in. a very-depressed condition, Cape firsts especially dropping in prico. Good Turkey nvorago is quoted - at 17d., and : firsts, at: 12d., with no demand even at that. The'losses on Cape, firsts' aro simply; tremendous, and'busihess with spinners is not as good as it, .was ■ v.