OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 725, 26 January 1910, Page 5

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

WOOL-GROWING IN SOUTH AFEIOA. (From Our Special Correspondent:)

/Bradford, December 10, 1909. / After.- the hurly-burly of the. wool sales the trade has once moro settled down to • normal, and-business looks more like what it ufluallj\:.is;- At the . same, time,. it is .just as, well that wo have such-, a big; event as-a series of - sales, for-then',we sec at once whore wool' actually stands. Recent. purchases are already, arriving in consuming centres, and. while. 1 the raw. material looks dear enough, . still it is hardly so extravagantly high, as it was in September. Users can well do; with something more reasonable, for prices then wero extravagantly high. It's , all right enough for wool-growers, to receive ,big figures .for their clip, but at; the . same timo it'.must always bo borne in .mind that when tho:. usei" finds ho can do' no good, with the/wool,-'he;is.not long in devising means for remedying an unprofitable situation. If growers could have heard one halt the :grumbling that has been-, made about dear ;wool, this last six months : they would think that a dead' EOt bad been made against prices.- and no .doubt, there was when things declined .in Octobor. Wool would :: have still , further..'slipped back, but for/the large- needs.of users, and it is only an absence of stocks which caused values to slightly appreciate. However, business is proceeding apace, and the way. wool ,ha 3. been sent - out ■ ffom .the London warehouses - to' buyers is . certainly encouraging from' many , standpoints. Whenever, a man has bought, instructions have at'once been given for the of tho eame, . thus clearly proving' the great .need that exists for a. supply of the raw * material. . : SOUTH AFRICA 'AS A WOOL-GEOYTING . COUNTEY. ' . Some/surprise, seems to have, been expressed at the announcement 4 made, by the well-known : wool. statisticians,. H. Schwartzn and Co.; that supplies of wool from South Africa have this > year advanced, 104.000 bales, # compared with 1908. I. am open, to : that; personally 1 am among that number, and Buch an increase is certainly . more, than anybody: over eipcctcdd. Yet, for all that, it! is the natural sequence of events, Oapo pastoralists manifesting more t progress in sheep-breedinif and wool-growing . than at any time ;dnring the past half century. With the, ! Govornmentß of the Orange Eiver Colony' and the Transvaal: waking up— thanks to independent legislation and some ! practical, farmers at tho head of affairsother neighbouring States, if., I may call I them such, have been stirred, to, adopt a j forward programme, hence we. see from/ Capo. Town to .Johannesburg, - from -Pretoria to Port Elizabeth, and right through: Natal, aheep-farmers • everywhere doing ! their grow more wool, and pre-, pare Banie-for market in, a-much better way. ' Some •. years have elapsed since greasy : (Jape wool made 13d. .per lb., and yet .that: is; what actually took place .at the ..recent series of sales. ' Certain parts of South Africa are very, much like the northern regions: of South Australia,' the j far west of New South Walesi' and Western r-Australia. No what methods, aro •adopted, tho wool will be red and earthy, but buyers can: get .over that, if there •is nofput up with-the; fleece tho - bellies and britch, v which is so frequently .done, by !South . African,, farmers.' , It is: bad enough'having to estimate the clean yield of sand arid earth in' combing :wool with-/ ont.having to calculate ithe surinkago.'on, lieavy. bellies and britch, and all rejoice to see some improvement' on -theso- lines. SIGNXFICANT FIGUBES EESPECTING . IMPORTS. . ' . A close ; analgia, of the figures .respecting' imports of . wool into tlys country shows, that during recent 1 - years our' Bupply - has advanced by leaps -and /bounds compared with the early,'parts of the present century( and it is surprising. that -we have not-to-day a-glut, .as waß . the case from 1895 to 1899. I well remember the - time when all users • were "bunged" • out with stock, and - the 1 - late ; Sir. Isaac, Holdon's propheoy was fulfilled that we should have, wool at'tho price of cotton. Suoh was !the case,' for very good fleece crossbred dropped.!to 4d. .-per lb., and i at, 'one-time even decent . merino greasy could ' be bought . -for .penny; :more., . There; is ; no, moro astounding phenomenon in;'connec-. tion . with tho raw material than ; to : flndj itlie present "large*'production "moving' out of hand.andrbeing absorbed;with the;samc' agility, 'as .was ;tho case, in- : 1900, .when supplies were : a full million-bales less than they have .been ;this i year. That;,is ono aspect of the', wool' situation,, which' has received but. scant.i recognition, and : yet ,it proclaims eloquently tho, expanding nature, of-, wool- consumption in. all coun : tries alike: ; 'The following ; figures.' show tho total imports . during the . past few yoara into Europe and,' America of Australasian and Cape wools, .and Schwartze's !figures -are worth- closo -anayleis:-^.

i Austral- ■■■■. Total , .. .. .asian.. .-:,0ap0.-. Colonial. Toar. k-.;.. Bales. Balos. Bales. 1900 • 288.000 ■ . 1,699,000 ... 1891 -1,633,000 -.322,000 . - 2,005,000 1892 1,835,C00- : 291,000 .2,126,000 1893 1,775,000 . 200,000 2,074,000 • '1894. 1,896,000 . 256,000 2,152,000 v 1895 .J..;,....... 2.001,000 '' - 269,000 2,Z70;000 .1895 : ; 1.E46.CC0 , 288,CC0 • 2,134,000 ; 1897 i,834,000. ; 274,c00: 2,108,000,' ■1898 1,703,000 ; 279,000.1,982,000 - ' 1899 1,641,CC0 267,000 . 1,909,CC0 1900 1,156.000■ 140,000." 1,596,000' 1901' 1,745,000 217,000 ' 1,962,000■ 1902 ' ..L..-V;.:.- 1,699,000 234,000'. "1,933,000 - . 19(8'..' 1,451,000 .: 234,G00 " ,1,685,000 .. . 1904' ...—v....- 1,371,000 : 201,000 • 1,572,000- • 1905 1,622,000 ; 209,000 ■ 1,842,000 : 1906 1,833,000. ,-atjm -2,071,0001907' > 2,103,000 ; 287,000 , ! 2,390,000..' 1908 .... : 2,072,000. . ;276,000 .: 2.348,000 » •:; 1909': 2.296,000 380,000'.' \ 2,676,000 THE BEST WOOL GROWING PAETS OF., SOUTH AFBICA. ■ It: may- not bo .'generally: known -to Australian' roadore, but tho -Western Provinco ot: Cape Colony is unquestionably the beet wool-growing area in- the whole'of South Africa; duo • undoubtedly: to • agood climate and paßtureage.\ r 'Parmerß in this;part of the,-'-colony.-'are' not bo addicted- to • Bhear-. ing every - six monthß -as ..they are . 'else-, whero, consequently. • thewools'. are better liked, aud,- as a 'rule, 'we get more:uni--' form results. "• There .is- always, far more, competition for these wools than for ,the rod, earthy fleeces, grown-ip-.other jj.arts of the colony,'; and, being as a rule better prepared \for: ; market 16 • also 'another importantessential .which 1 helps- to pro- ; • mot© competition. The' confidence of the; trade- bas in the past been very largely, shakenin Cape wools,, owing to their, dis-; appointing yield, it - being no uncommon thing'for the most expert • buyers to: be from 3 to 5 per cent; out in estimating the olean yield. Statements have often been made of tops costing. anywhere -from Id. to 2d. more -.than-expeoted' owing .to oxcossive shrinkage- ,in the 1 wools,-, this meaning a,; direct. loss to buyers. It- only noeds men to be so. bitten, two or three times to see:them leave alone Boutli Ain* qau wools, but -with little farmers 'Clips being better /skirted and locked, * competition is again broadening, and there are. more' people buying. Oape i wools thim<formcrly. ■ .•> •' i ;.,:; -, -A STEADY-HABKET.. There is not a'great .deal new. to;say:re- : garding. the situation. Things'are •pursuing- thje even tenor. of their . course, ' and 1 as far as one can see there .is not; nowlikely .to, be much ohange, with the year fast drawng to a close. Interest .'has been kindled with, the opening of the Sydney sales, and if the cabled' results areto. be. relied upon, then wool , seems pretty dear. At the same .time, the : fact'iß very signi-: ficant that importing top-makers are still willing'sellers at last. week's • priceß, and it scenis strange if wool : is' costing .so much that top-makers are still, prepared to accept what they'were Quoting a : week ago. There is not a 'great =deal of bust' ness ■ passing, the. political;., outlook :• no doubt influencing a good-many in their This,month importers begin delivering .part of their new contracts, and it. hardly seems likely'that spinners* are going to pay more when , they: have tops bought'at Id. to 2d., less than what..is being quoted' So' far /as new business .'is., concerned, ,there pis. vory--little doing. : Even direct importers state emphatically that they are riot finding , muclr demand, and new contracts are being taken ,up with very, little rest., . ilost. attention I at present seems to'be given, to crossbredß, I and these are Btill selling in fair quantl*. ; ties both for Home and export, Tho feeling generally seems to -favour higher k priccs, and, judging'by .the-cabled reports from New Zealand and »Buenos;\ Aires, crossbred woor is selling . freely. ' .There seems-to be with many people more hope entertained-over' the. strength of cross-' bred a than - merinos, some thinking that *hcrc ia more lo.titudo about the former however, there is no-, doubt' that, coarse qualities are still reasonable, and-, at 14d.. to- 40's';.nobody, enn Bay: they are -dear. The demand is still for Ws'-to 50*3, atfd wool, sells . freely; ■ infact,V it ..is 'a, somewhat scarce article,'and .anything of either . carding or; 1 combing length 'can easily be disposed of. Daring, tho past week a. fairly healthy .demand has'sprung up for crossbred fleece wools :on Home account, largely due to the fact that users are-being forced to come into-the-market,-ffley, wanting now. the ,raw material. .The uifflculty with many is not being, able to buy, stocks'being- so-small.in the hands if .everybody. Even English-staplers- feel that thoir position to-day is a;very strong ,oue, - and .there is- also' more doing in. skin wools. Mohair ; is very quiet;, busk ness of only , a 'hand-to-mouth oharacter being done. -v.!."sr