MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL. Daily Southern Cross Office, Wednesday Evening. WOOL, FLAX, AND GUM.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 3993, 9 June 1870, Page 4

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL. Daily Southern Cross Office, Wednesday Evening.

WOOL, FLAX, AND GUM.

Customs Receipts To day : —Duties, £608 8s 4d ; light dues, £13 Is 6cl; arms fees, £1 Is ; port charges, £3 3s 9d. Total, £625 14s 7d. Mr. S. Jones reports having sold to-day : Oats, 3s 4d; barley, 2s 3d ; maize, ss; butter, lOd; kerosine, 4a Gd per gallon. At Messrs. 0. Arthur and Son's sale of produce, to-day, the following prices were obtained : —Potatoes, 21. 10s to 21. 15s; bacon, 7^d to B£d; lard, 6d to 6£d ; onions, Id to If d.

We have been kindly furnished with a number of private circulars received by business houses in town by the last mail. Wool.--At a meeting of the New South Wales and Van Diemen s Land Commercial Association, held on the 16th March, at London, the Chairman rep&rtod that, as the' result of the inquiry instituted at the request of the colonists in regard to the sale of wool in London, » reduction of 3d per bale upon the consolidated rate had been.obtained, toe present charge being 4s 6d, instead of is 9a per bale as formerly. It was resolved that the brokerage charge of one per cent, should again be made the subject of special consideration. Messrs. Jacomb and Jo., commenting on the report of the committee, state that " The savings in the cost of production, management, and colonial charges are/ more likely to give sensible relief to the growers than tho bagatelle of savings in brokerage and warehouse charges now attempted to be made, or considered capable of being made, on this side, amounting in all to about f per

cent. _ Thus far, therefore, the Result of the agitation of this question resulted in an attempt to procure this trifling saving, and" in a substitution of five ipr four seriea of sales, "which have proved tb be certain loss in the November and February sales, by the purchases being made from land to mouth, and with a certainty that the April and June sales together will contain so large a proportion of the clip that themuch-dreaded dealer or middle-man must be relied upon for support, unless importers deem it advisable to hold for a later period of the year, with the accumulation o£ -warehouse charges and interest and the uncertainty of a better market." Wool-Washing.— A circular, issued by Messrs. Southey, Balme, and Co., and entitled "Suggestions to Colonial Flockmasters," has been kindly supplied to us by Messrs. Must and Co., and it contains much useful information. The circular begins by referring to the importance of attention to the different methods of washing -spool ; then proceeds to offer suggestions founded upon long experience of the character of iW demand prevailing in the London market,. The circular says that fleece washed wools are suited to the demands of a greater variety of buyers than any other ; and their merits are more distinguishable than -when unwashed. It is also found that washed wools are more in demand where colour is an object ; as wool shipped in the grease does not take so bright a dye as when washed. The policy of washing high-class wools in the fleece is, therefore, undeniable. It is generally admitted that, except in the case of the most superior wools, water heated to the 110 th degree of Fahrenheit produces an openness and roughness of appearance which detraefs from the value of wool for manufacturing purposes. The use of soda is also admitted to be injurious, rendering the fibre biibtle and harsh, and producing loss of weight, and even flocks of unexceptionable excellence and breed are injured to some extent by the use of soda. The circular therefore recommends that the tempera ure of the water should be as low as is absolutely necessary for thorough, cleans ing, and that the temperature should not in ordinary flocks exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The soap should consist of oil and potash, but no soda should be used in any form. "Where oil is too dear, beef or mutton " fat may be substituted. Care should be taken that the " yolk" do not " set " in the staple during washing, whioh results in the wool becoming caked and hard when packed. It is, however, more likely to occur in cold than in hot water washing ; when it hapjoens in hot water washing it is caused by keeping the sheep too long in the pool of cold water before passing the animal i under the spout to be riuaed. A cold d.iy will also cause it. A very small but sufficient portion of the yolk should be retained in the fleece, to preserve the fibre soft and elastic, and the wool should be packed perfectly dry. It will be found advisable to market the following in the grease : 1. All classes of defective and faulty wool which gain a certain advantage from the fact of their defects being less recognisable or conspicuous when unwashed. 2. All flocks grown under circumstances in which the requisite facilities for washing well or thoroughly on the sheep's back do not exist. The process of scorning is not advantageous as regards the sale of the wool. Because — 1, the scorning is not so effectually performed as to render it unnecessary for the manufacturer to repeat the process ; 2, ifc is exposed to the suspicion of admixture with skin wool ; 3, if combing wool, it is frequently so tangled as to injure its value, or its employment for that purpose ; 4, it is not found in praofcice to work so favourably in manufacture as when once washed immediately before use. It is only in cases of excessive weight, or great length, o* transport, that there is no advantage in that condition. Dumping, except where the pressure is so great as to burst the bales, does not injure the fibre. The great aim should be to secure uniformity throughout each bale as regards quality, staple, and condition. Restrictions upon lotting are unwise, for, if the classification is thorough, the same at once indicates the character of the bale. With regard to breeding, the grower ought tio determine what olasa of wool hig country is best suited to produce, by carefully watching the progress of modifications. He should encourage the natural tendency by every means ; he should record the introduction of strange or imported flocks ; but where necessary select the best type of sheep acclimatised to his own latitude. Attempts to secure greater weight of wool in the fleece than fine-woolled sheep usually yield, have shown that increased weight entaila a corresponding sacrifice of quality and an increase of staple, constituting an entire change in the character of the fleece. The attempts to introduce long-woolled English breeds into Australia are also condemned. In certain parts of New Zealand, however, where there are artificial grasses, the expei'ilnent has to some extent succeeded ; but it is believed chat sufficient time has not elapsed to substantiate the test. Messrs. Southey and Balme refer also to the effectiveness of the culling and selecting in the colonies, the elimination of inferior wool being often too little appreciated. The improvement may be slow, and the result of patient working for many years ; but it is by a careful and steady perseverance of weeding the flocks annually, and by avoiding the improper and ill-judged admixture of, alien breeds, that the best clips in the colonies have achieved distinction. The New Zealand Mercantile Loan Agency Company's report says : — "One of the first ropemaking firms in London is of opinion that the New Zealand flax will not come into general use for ropemaking ; that it is strong, but rather coarse-looking when made up ; and that it will not be nearly so durable aa Manila. As yet, however, they have scarcely had sufficient experience to justify them in speaking positively of it in that respect. They think that it will wear better tarred than white, and that the latter should be made up in fish oil. They do not see that it is more suitable for one sort of rope than another, but would recommend that it should not be used for falls. They are trying it for drivingbands, and will be able, m the course of a few weeks, to form an opinion as to its use for general purposes." Messrs. Lewis and Peat, of Mincing Lane, London, report : "Flax, cleaned and dressed, 251. to 40Z. per ton ; part cleaned and dressed, 111 to 23/. ; tow and raw, 101. to 15?. The demand has been quite languid, there being no buyers excepting -„-fo r fine-dressed and cleaned. Of 2,449 bales in auction very few were disposed of. Fine clean, 34£. to 37Z. ss; half-dressed, 19Z. 55t022J. ; tow, 101. 15s to 13J. ss, for common to fine. There appears to be a considerable \ prejudice against the article here, and few of the ropemakers are using it, so we cannot recommend further imports unless the mode of preparation is considerably improved." j Messrs. Ellis and Hale report : — " New Zealand: Nothing was Offered of any moment until the 16th. instant, when the public sales contained 1,081 bales, of which only about 200 bales sold, at 22Z for good half-dressed, and 34Z. to 371. 5s for good and superior, being 27. to 31, per ton better rates. Tow sold with spirit at 10Z. 15a to 13J. sa ; but this week, of 1,465 bales at sale, scaroely 300 bales found buyers j • some good medium quality brought SOI. 15a to 3U., and common ' 01. to 231. ; good and superior, bought in, 35*. t0,38i. per ton." The following ia Maasrs. F. H. and A. Collier's report on Australian and New Zealand produce: — "15, New Broad-street, London, Matoh 2s, lB7o.— Wool: For the sales to commence on jshe 7th. April, 11j3,Q00 .bales haveamved, andabotttjbalfasmuchmoreia expected in the interval. 7 The advices of actual shipments from the . colonies 'do not show any decrease in quantity as compared with the preceding season.' f There have not been sufficient transactions' here since the close of last sales to indbate any alteration in prices. The Bales will comprise a large quantity, but there is very little old stock here or in the hands of manufacturers, and there seems reason to expect a good, demand from the Continent. The revival of trade in this country is less decided than was generally looked for— perhaps partly by reason of the cold weather— bo that we think a rise in

price can hardly be reckoned on. ' Tallow ; Australian mutton, 41s to 44s ; beef, 40a to 43a ; aalea to-day, Is to 2a lower ; stock of all kinds, 29,000 casks ; against la&t year, 37,000 casks. Cocoaimt oil : Sydney, 36s to 40a 6d ; Cochin, 45s 6d ; Ceylon, 425. Sperm oil, 90Z. ; Southern whale, 36Z. to 39?. Whalebone: Southern, 300?. to S2OL Hides : "Wet salted, ox and cow, best heavy, 5d to 5Jd ; light, sjd to s£d ; second and third, 4d to sd. Mimosa bark : Ground, 9?. 10s to 10?. ; chopped, 8?. to 9?. 5s ; long, 61. to 81. Flax :We think it better to abstain from quotations, as it has lately become very difficult to make sales at all. On the 23rd instant the highest bid for well 'dressed was 2GI, which was refused. The ropemakers have evidently come to the conclusion that it will not answer their purpose ; but notwithstanding this we think that other uses will be found for it, 'and that there will be some improvement in the present prices here. Copper, 71 1. to 121."