SHEEP-SKINS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 141, 4 March 1918, Page 8

SHEEP-SKINS

the:requisition arrangements

SOME POINTS-EXPLAINED

Some farmers appear to be in doubt still as to dotails of .the arrangements made for' the jnirchaso'of shocpskins under the requisition' scheme.. The poas explained by' the Imperial Supplies Department;"is that all sfieepskinsj oxcepfc those from sheep slaughtered for export at freezing works, are requisitioned on behalf of the Imperial Government, and it is unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell, or purchase or offer to purchase, skins, save by way of sale to and purchase on behalf of the Crown.

Provision is made for tho issue, by the Controller, of dealers' licenses, by which certain persons may purchase sheepskins from farmers. Such purchases' inusfc afterwards, however, bo submitted for valuation and purchase oy the Government through a registered Government broker. Farmers selling skins to a dealer should in all cases insist on seeing the dealer's license. Licenses are also issued to certain individuals to purchase skins and skinpieces which have been submitted to valuation but have been rejected by the Government skin-va|uer. as unsuitable for Imperial Government requirements. Such skins and ekin-pieces are fellrnongered by the purchaser on,his own account, and the resulting slipe wool must be submitted for valuation and purchase by the Crown through a registered Government broker.

Range of Values. ■ ■ The price at which the Imperial Government agreed to purchase sheepskins from New. Zealand 'growers, is. 55 per cent, above the average prices realised in New Zealand for sheepskins in January, 1914. The following is the scale of values per pound for skin's with sound or undamaged pelts:— Pino Coarse

Skins with damaged or faulty pelts ' aro to be valued at prices proportionate to the above. Seedy skins are to be 1 valued at lower values according to their condition. Black skins are to be valued according to their proportionate value to ordinary skins of the same class. In valuing green or salted sound-, pelted skins allowance, is made for the extra value of the pelts compared with dried sound skins of, similar quality. The value'placed'oif the skins is the price at which the Government purchases the skins delivered loose to drays ex brokers' stores after valuation, all charges for 6toro handling ; salting (if necessary), weighing, classifying, cataloguing, displaying for. valuation, stor- ' ,age for fourteen days after purchase, invoicing, etc., being paid by th* seller; and for these services the broker is entitled, to charge such commission or other remuneration, as may be in accordance .with the established custom of the trade in the locality. The cost of baling or bundling skins after valuation, and cartage from store to rail, is, however, borne by the Imperial Government. Fourteen days after completion of purchase by valuation and invoicing payment is made, free of exchango, to the broker in whose possession the skins are held, and the broker receives and accounts for same as the agent -of .the seller. Skins aro trimmed- at the brokers' stores', by'removing,,, shanks, cheekpiecesj and dirt," and "are classified into lots according to quality and length of .wool and condition of pelts. Each lot may contain skins belonging to many different owners, but each owner's ■" skins are weighed separately before being added to the lot.

1.. Care of Skins. !A great loss. to ..the, farmers in New ";:" Zealand results through careless flay- ;. ing of skins and indifferent care on the farm afterwards. The annual loss duo |■■■;• to these causes runs into many thous- /■ v -.'ands of pounds, and the great quan- ; .iity- of "pelts" which" are useless after ' the wool has been removed and' have *■. to be destroyed is deplorable. Slcins ■'"• should bo'carefully Hayed, painted while soft with an arsenical mixture • as a protection from weevils, and oare- ■ . fully spread over rails or wires under cover to dry. Skins from sheep which ' : have died should, if found in time, ~ receive the same •care as those, from ': sheep slaughtered' ''for consumption; The difference in value between, a sheepskin producing a first-grade pelt ■. and a skin carrying a similar quantity and quality of wool but with a ruined pelt is at least 3s. per skin.

Disposal of Skins After Purchase. Sheepskins after valuation ■ and" purchase are allotted to fellmongers for; •: treatment at contract 'prices .'under .■Government expert supervision. All fellmongering. works in New Zealand are engaged on Government work. The slipe wool, after being passed by the ' inspectors and haled; is revalued for Imperial purposes.' and delivered to shipping stores for dumping and shipment. The pelts _ after' curing are graded into qualities (all useless pelts being discarded) and packed into casks, and after supplying the requirements of New Zealand tanners, and of the New Zealand Defence Department for jer-

kin leather, the- balance is shipped to the Imperial Government. Skins From Sheep Slaughtered For Export. ; Sheepskins from sheep slaughtered" at freezing works for'export'aro not requisitioned as skins,-but are fellmongored by tho freezing companies on account of tho owners. The resulting slipo wool is purchased on behalf of the Imperial Government at a fixed basis of prices according to quality, and the pelts aro allowed to be shipped on account of tho owners under certain restrictions.

Half- cross- cross-. Merino, bred. bred, bred Three-quarter d. d. d. d. to full-wool 10i-lll 13-14 12-13 Ul-Wi Half-wool ... 8J-9J 11-12 101-11J 10-115 Short to quar- - ".,„ ter-wool ... 75-8$ 9(403 91-10? 8J-10{ Shorn 5j- 63 8-9 . 8|- 9j .8-10 Lambs U-12s