YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1276, 3 November 1911, Page 3

YORKSHIRE LETTER.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE MEKINO ON THE WOOL WORLD. (From Our Special Correspondent.! Bradford, September 22, 1911. -Has the wader ever ihoußht about the influence of the merino ou the textilo trader This subject is forced upon my mind after having a very intelligent couversatiou with one of'Australias largest squatters who paid me ■I'm- ~v o ' la 3" s n K° in Worstedopolis. 11ns gentleman left this country in IS/0, and to-day his sheep stocks muster nearly three-quarters of a million of merinos. i . I c s l ursc '' ,' us stations in Queensland lelu \ themselves almost exclusively to tho rearing and breeding of line sheep, and he appears wtll saoslicd with wDat he is doing. When 1 tell readers that lie is marketing annually at least 10,000 bales ot wool, the size of his property c ?:m b® judged, and his cry is stul onward." It is tho old story over a " al ?7 (pf "nothing succeeds like sucee"ls' ~ e seven years of drought naturally reduced both the value of his properties, and nearly wiped out his jjpeks, but Dame Nature has smiled upon J m ,V a i to-day he is tho owner of some °j the best sheep in Australia. Naturally our conversation turned largely upon line wool, and we both agreed that as lOug as the world lasts there will always be a satisfactory demand for fine material. Then the squartter's mind went forcibly back to tho loan year of 1895, when some of his best scoured combing merino wool sold in London as low as Jl)d.. I shall not bo surprised if wool Irom the same station does not fetch next week in Coleman Street over 25., but in any case he will roceivc at least an all round 6d. per pound more for his scoured fobbing, clothing, broken, and pieces. J-his makes a big difference in tho actual returns of tho station, and spells tho diiiercnce between profit and loss. Of course, my friend had the wisdom not to v- 'l 1 a st l-1 ' 0 * an( l displayed v sound, common sense. i\o doubt, like hundreds more, he is on velvet, but I say that Australian pastorahsts well deserve all they receive. Some of those years thcro is bound to bo a . series of droughts, and then sheep will drop off like flies on a cold, frosty October night in England. It is, however, the influence ot the merino in the textile trado which I think deserves consideration. THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH DOWN BREED. Quito recently I was reading an account of the wool trade as far back as 1826, when Great Britain's supplies of fine wool were practically' confined to Spanish merinos. Even in that day England was tho market of the world for tho raw material grown outside its own shoves, although tho importations of Spanish merino sheep mado during the days of lung Georgo 111 were making their influence felt in British sheep stocks. Some day I hope to give an article on this most interesting subject, and in passing it may interest readers to know that there still exists in Suffolk a little flock cf purebred merinos, tho wool from which would surprise many a colonial pastoralist. As I write I havo before mo a sample shorn last June, and it shows a gocd Oi's and would compare quite favourably with the majority of the merino clips of Australia for length, soundness, serration, and quality. The sample is a little yolky, but that is not really a deficiency. Without doubt the influence of tho merino importations in tho early part of tho nineteenth century is to be seen to-day as plainly as possible in the Down breeds of Great Britain. I have always maintained that in the Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, and Dorset Down breeds there is merino .blood, and the more I read of tho early history of sheepbreeding in the last century, the more convinced I am that tho Down breeds have been made by crossing tho native sheep with tho merino, and to-day with the lapse of time and in-breeding tho features have become a fixed typo in tho Down breeds of Great Britain." Any practical man has only to study tho fibre formation of the Down breeds of England to see a strong resemblance to the merino, the only difference being that- English Down wool is more fluffy or blobby than tho pure merino. It may surprise somo readers, but wo know where a superior lot of Southdown wool has quite recently been blended with colonial Cfl's in the production of merino tops.

MERINO FABRICS LEGION. It is not so much a question of merino blood iii English Down sheep alwut which I want to speak as what merino wool has done for the textile trade of Europe. Who can'say what it has not done? If wo go back to the early days of last century and trace the use of Spanish merino wool, and then Saxony and Silesia merinos by the manufacturers of tho West Riding, we have a chapter which almost baffles comprehension, but tho use of tho fleece of these Continental sheep was all tho time paving the way for tho large use of Australian and South African merinos, and 10-day we have a colossal industry which no human mind can fully comprehend." As the Australian squatter and tho writer sat till nearly midnight talking over various things connccted with tho trade, conversation naturally turned to the new avenues of consumption for fine wools which had opened out during the past twenty-five years, and we both agreed theso would continue to remain open because nothing but fine wool would satisfy tho demand of the public in their call for fine, soft under garments, socks, etc., all of which consume large quantities of merino wool. The fabrics which are being mado from CO's to 70's quality material are legion, and crossbreds woulll bs altogether uiisuitable for that purpose. At the same time, the latter are going into certain channels of consumption where they serve a much better purpose than merinos, and that aspect of tho wool trade might some day be discussed with advantage. In merino wool tho trade has an article of first importance, and ill the production of such useful commodities as fine serges, worsted coatings, dress goods, fino woollen fabrics and flannels, tine wool is employed. No matter from what standpoint the merino trado is viewed, I am certain no man living can comprehend and fully detail the influence which an adequate supply of fine wool is having upon the text'ilo industry of Europe. and America, and it is to bo hoped that pastoralists "down under" will continue to supply the manufacturing world with raw material from which to make the endless variety of goods which we see to-day.

MERINOS' INFLUENCE IN EVOLVING CROSSBRED SHEEP. There is another side to the merino sheep and wool trado which must not be lost sight of. Tho great trado that is being dono to-day in "freezers" is entirely tho product of the merino sheep; in other words, it is the mating of the Engiish siro with the fine woolled animal. But' for t:his_ crossing of the two distinct breeds New Zealand and the River Plate w;ould to-day be in a very different position, for no man will deny the fact that the breeding of mutton sheep for English markets has brought in its train prosperity to thousands of pastoralists. The writer well remembers the beginning of this colossal industry, and the great change which has come over the flocks of tho Dominion and the Argentine is entirely due to this cause. llany woolbuyers have bemoaned the fact of the displacing of the merino in New Zealand by the crossbred, but it is one of those natural developments which no man can stand against. The merino no doubt is a disappearing quantity in tho (locks of New Zealand as well as the River Plate, but all tho same so long as South Africa and Australia continue to breed the merino I think they will bo able to supply tho world's needs of fine wool. Nature seems to have fitted these countries to grow this breed of sheep, although no doubt there aro certain localities where crossbrens can be bred and kept' to advantage. All the same, the bulk of pastoralists in the two countries named can undoubtedly farm the merino on a more profitable basis than mutton sheep, and I hero make a strong plea for them to continue to breed that which Nature and climate has filled them for. In tho production of men and women's wear fabrics I am satisfied that fine wool will always have the premier place, for it is natural for human beings to relish something soft and fine in preference to heavier and rougher made fabrics which the crossbred produces. The influence of the merino is everywhere seen, and mankind • has risen to tho occasion by inventing machinery for the successful manipulation of fine wool, and when I tell readers that even short six months' Cape wool can be combed, it only serves lo show what perfection has been arrived at in the equipment of modern mills. All the same no man advocates tlio shear-.

ing of merino sheep twice a year, and I am glad that Australian pascoralists set the rest of the world a noble example in this "respect. What is everywhere wanted is ah adequate supply of tine wool, and if this is only forthcoming, I am satislied that good prices will continue to prevail. As far as one can see it will be a long time Wore values for fine wool drop so low as they did in 1895, and although there is certain to be fluctuations, yet I think that with each succeeding season good and satisfactory prices will be paid for merino wool. The situation in Bradford does not show much change compared with a week ?So, but things are 110 worse. That really is not saying a great deal, and we wish we could report an accession of new business sufficiently large in volume to make its influence felt upon the market. Really speaking, the majority engaged in handling merinos and crossbreds do not t to see higher values, -and although partial loss would have to be faced upon present stooks, yet that would bo a small item compared to being able to buy larger supplies at less money. The clearing of the Continental political atmosphero has created a somewhat brighter tone, and all alike are disposed to look to the future with a little more confidence. At the same time, there has not been any real improvement in actual business, anil it is possible to buy on the sale level of values a week ago.