CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 10, 11 July 1936, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

A WOOL-SCOURING SUBSIDY

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In the report of a conference on the question of a subsidy for wool scouring in your issue of July 9 it is stated: "The contention . was also made by speakers that wool scouring was not profitable in all cases, and to this Mr. Nieholls replied that he thought that would be very difficult to prove." With a good experience in wool scouring and manufacturing from both scoured and greasy wool I strongly venture to challenge Mr. Nicholls's assertion. I think, Sir, many people are aware that the paramount excellence of Lancashire's cotton textiles is due to its humid climate enabling the raw material to be worked in a nonbrittle condition throughout the various processes. The same advantage applies even more emphatically in the working of1 the best classes of wool, particularly for worsted goods. In its natural state, the .silkiness and elasticity of the wool fibre is protected by its oily coat called yolk. Any worker | among greasy wool, however dirty his hands or clothes become, does not need any soap for thoroughly washing ] them; the natural grease is sufficient. Manufacturers of the best class of woollen dress goods or other apparel as well, as the finest knitting wools desire to retain in their finished product the original silkiness and elasticity of the naturalwool, and, to effect this, desire to keep the raw material from ever becoming brittle and dry throughout the various processes, ■ always impregnating the tops and yarns with a modicum of the finest oil to retain the flexibility between and through the various processes. This cannot be done when the wool has been scoured and dried and dumped for transport from the utmost ends of the earth. This flexibility can never be regained once the natural grease has been mostly removed by scouring and drying, and sometimes, through inefficient scouring, the oily part is removed and the dirt residue left in the wool, which, under pressure for shipping purposes, becomes as hard as a block of wood. For these reasons manufacturers of the highest class of goods refuse to bid for or buy wool, which has been scoured prior to shipment, and the growers therefore lose the competition of the best buyers and consequently the top prices which might otherwise be secured for their wool, and as this, of course, applies, to the bulk of a clip, the fleece portion, it is easy to see that local scouring is not profit- | able to the growers of such wools. In- | ferior fleece, pieces, bellies, and locks, of course, do not come within this category, and being usually much dirtier, can with advantage be scoured here, as they are used for a different class of trade, and incidentally then cost less in freight.—l am, etc.,

E. BOLD.