OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3037, 26 March 1917, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

i"■■■■ ■ y£- "■ ■■' '■£' : / WOOLSLFORi. JiHAm PURPOSES ' ■A 1 ' (From Ouri'goeirfat Correspondent.) V; Bradfoi'd, January 25, 1917. .'So long as the war lasts the question t>f the suitability of the different classes kf. wool im: military requirements will freooive attention. (We have discussed this questiomkefore, but it has lost none i>£ ita interest, the jtfjple matter being Oβ full ot waoticaj jasues as at any time since ti&e war 'broke out. Tho subjeot has arisen bccauee'of renewed activity, throuchout the textile industry, '''; considerable big orders being placed this year, for military fabrics, on behalf of the Imperial Government and also our Allies,! It Is well known that tho 1916 . Clip of English -wool has melted like fnow before the rising sun, and it -will ,w£news to jniany' to. know that practically all export $)(. British-grown wools <BaS-Isen. stopped, for tho simple reason 'that jfc is all winy wanted, and largely consumed in the production of military (fabrics.. Long and strong wools like Scotch bJaokfaced, Herdwicks, and ipouS Itaia wools are to some extent unsuitable for-Snh'y fabrics. Deep lustre wools are in, the same category, but anything from H'b quality upwards can be used. ; .quite freely, the result being that con- • ' siderablo quantities ate Deing absorbed ■ daily;'" Tie absonoe of adequate supplies of New Zealand Qrossbreds ha? no doubt ■'"■■ iboen an important footor in causing EnglishV wools to be used more for military purposes than would otherwise have been ;tho caso. The special fitness of cross; 'bred/wools for present day requirements • 'is .'seen in the way the' Government aro ■supplying their nrgont needs, for having 'insufficient supplies of raw matorial .themselves, tfiey have bought from topmakers certain classes o£ tops in jrder to ,'eatiefj. spinners who are engaged in the ..production of military yarns. They : liave promised to pay back their debts j ljjr supplying wool to produce lops at ) the commandeered price, but the very -; -fact of finding this necessary shows that ' there are no surplus stocks of wool or .tops on the market. : ,

Qualities Most Used. ■ We havo already Tomarked upon the special fitness of crossbreds for military needs,* and any closo observer cannot but have noticed the make-up of soldiere' and sailors' uniforms. Eight from the under-garment to the heavy overcoating, crossbred wool of cither one! quality or another is used. As far as -, ;we. Know it is only into officers' underclothing and certain small cloths that . merinos enter. At tho same time, we should say that '80 per cent, of tlie requirements of soldiers and sailors are met in the wools from the mntton breeds, these Tanging 111 tho. way from Ws up to. s(fs quality, the bulk being H'b and ii'a. The iEusslan heavy overcoatings aro mostly made from 36's and Ws quality, a certain ■ percentage o£ tho finest ' classes of Scotch blackfaced also being used. Still, foi: the British Empire, tho bnlk quality is 46's; no donbt 44's, 18's, and possibly 46% aro blended with them. • .This, means that medium ■ quality crossWeds foTm tlie foundation quality for "/. the production of army and navy fabrics, and it is' fortunate that these wools are the most largely Jised both in Great Britain and throughout the British Empire. The evolution of the crossbred is a subject that is well worth considering, and may form the basis of.au interesting article at some future time, but it is remarkable what part the mutton breeds ' of Great Britain are playing in providing

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for the needs of the soldiers and sailors of Great Britain and her Allies. Of course, this England of ours has been looked upon from time immemorial as the home of the mutton breeds, and it looks as if New Zo'aland made her departure in breeding crossbred , sheep m the very niok of time. We believe we are right in Baying that not more than 50,000 merino sheep are to be found in tho pastures of New Zealand, notwithstanding that her flocks t|o-day are a httlo over 24 million sheep. The development of freezing and bringing home sheep in cold storage has no doubt been the mating of the pastoraliete of the Dominion, and we aTe satisfied that there will bo little departure from the present lines of operation in the near future. We have already indicated that 46'e forms the bulk quality for the production of euch useful fabrics as military half ho6e, that ie, for the stockings worn by tho troopa. It also enters very largely into tho make-up of the tunic and trousers, a little coarser quality being largely used .'for tho -production of the great' coat, although 46's turn out an exceedingly good sound fabric. When wo come to the" underwear, we find a little finer quality "being used , , 48's and 50'e being very largely omployed. Of courSD, tho'finer the quality the higher the price. English Downs produce admirable underwear, but colonial crossbreds have been very largely substituted and found to produce a magnificent warmFabric. When w.o como to the shirtings a different talo hlas to beitold, and it is here where tho principal weight of merinos is being consumed. Wo will give the British Government every credit for its thoughtfulness in providing a smooth yet warm and well-made article for eo\diers and sailors to wear next to the skin. Very big quantities of burry carbonising merinos are -used in the production of shirtings, in fact, long-combing merinos would, be utterly useless in making this fabric. Short fine clothing , merinos do admirably, and very big quantities of all-wool shirtings 'have been made in natural and bluo srey, though we understand that at the, present time there is a movement on foot to substitute angola shirtings instead of pure wool. These angola shirtings are made from a blend composed of 70 per cent, wool end 30 per cent, cotton. In some quarter* this is being opposed, for it will only cost about 7d. more per shirt to provide an all-wool article.

At the present time there is an absence of stocks of crossbreds on the market, and the arrivals o£ this wool are urgently wanted. W'hat new clip has arrived has been sent on to Bradford direct without being offered by public auction, and everything points to this line of action being adopted for many months to come, the trade wanting this class of staple. One 'cannot but observe in this connection the increasing quantities of crossbred wool/ which are being produced in Australia, the bulk being burry. This certainly Is a drawback. If not too "butry, theso can be combed, but as a iTule the wools have to be carbonised, and they then' serve a very good purpose in making crossbred woollen w.efts for khaki series, that is, when.not too Ion? in staple, these lengthy stapled wools being most .'suitable for combing into tops. Front whatever standpoint the production of army fabrics is considered, everybody sees how suitable crossbreds are for the purpose, and we are glad the British Empire has the raw matori&l to most tho needs of the war. Bradford Market, ■ The market presents a somewhat slack and quiet appearance, and it is quitecvident that there is littlo disposition to consider new business seriously. Everybody is feeling the effect of the trado being placed under increasing Govornnient control, arid the absence of any definite and trustworthy information, is tho ■reason why so little has been done recently. Those interested in the civilian trade are finding that Tery little oncouragement is given to them, and export trade "promises to have preference next to military requirements. When it is necessary for a user of wool to sign a statement as to whether he requires it for civilian iise or for export, and also knows that if he -wants it for the former and signs accordingly,' hie competitors interested in the export trade will be preferred before, him,, there is little encouragement to operate Besides this, ■there, is' the -.fact that several leading firms are so well sold forward that,their present policy is one of waiting. This adds another element to the forces which are now tending to make the market inaotive. Praotically no change has taken place in quotations, on the whole they are steady, none at all being forthcoming in a few, instances' for botany qualities. Theie is a feeling that the amount of merino wool will ba no more than adequate to satisfy trade requirements, and as the finns who are sold forward are those.who largely sell botany qualities this is also tending to strengthen the feeling, of independence which presents itself. Business in yarns is largely being held. ! up from the cause that is operating in the top market, and in the absence of further new inquiry there has been some disposition to release stocks,, particularly of botany qualities, on a basis which is scarcely equal to the highest recently current. Otherwise there is no alteration; spinners generally are waiting developments.