OUR YORKSHIRE WOOL LETTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, 1 August 1912, Page 2

OUR YORKSHIRE WOOL LETTER.

THE SPIXXIXG TRADE AX'D ITS

EFFECT UPOX WOOL PRICES

(From our Special CcrrcspomJmt.) 1 BRADFORD. Juno 21 1 The writer was talking the other ■ day to a textile worker well on w ’ wards eighty y ears old, who being in a • somewhat reminiscent mood, contrast- ' cd the life of tho average textile era- ] ploye-o at the present time with that ; of iiis own early days. He went Fuck '■ with evident interest to tho times of ' liand combing, carding on the ‘‘billy,’'' spinning on the “jenny,” and also the 1 hand loom days. In those times the ' bulk of' the work was done in the \ homes of the people—a strong contrast to what is seen to-day. The ' writer himself well remembers the time when in Bradford as well as in the outside districts, spinning and weaving rams all done “up stairs,” it being not more than thirty years since weaving was transferred from the ! homes of the people to the mills. That makes a very interesting chapter in connection with the textile trade of the past, hut to-day I want to say one or two things about spinning, and its relation to the textile industry of the present.. Times have changed vastly, and tho amount of wool consumed by the quick running automatic spindle stands out in strong contrast to the spinning on the jenny by hand. There is perhaps no branch of the textile trade which has shown more development than this, and to find machinery now so made as to be able to spin almost any kind of textile fibre is indeed marvellous. It is impossible to separate the prosperity of the wool world from the great business done in j yarns, and turn which way we will, spinners are exceedingly busy, esperia!lv those engaged in Botany qualities. 'Woollen spinning is as old as tite* hills, hut the same hannot be said of worsted spinning. The latter no doubt has been the mightiest, factor of all in transforming the wool industry, and to find such a large quantity of tops being consumed to-day in the production of yarns, is indeed marvellous. Tlie subject would be too technical for me to describe the difference between cap, ffy and throttle spun yarns, or even mule spun yarns, but it must ever bo borne in mind that the latter is the oldest system, wool being first spun on mules into a wearable thread. Of course, it is only during recent years that mule spinning lias been adopted in the worsted industry, the old hand mules not having been used for any purpose butspinning woollen yarns, and the same principle is not employed in spinning tops where a soft, full handling yarn is wanted. Before the spinning operation takes place, the wool must be combed. As every reader knows, a top is simply a long sliver of wool in which the fibres have been placed parallel to each other in tho combing operation. This is a very interesting yet- intricate method of wool manipulation, and before the top can be brought into a usable condition, it must go through the drawing and spinning processes. _ The object of the drawing operation is to reduce the top so much that when it comes to the spinning frame, it can i be filially reduced in thickness, and drawn out to the length ancl twist requisite to make it into a wearable yarn. Wool could never have been used for clothing unless these operations had been discovered, but the -old hand method of manipulating wool hundreds of years ago has simply been developed, until machinery to-day performs in a more skilled and efficient way the -operations that were formerly done by hand. Spinning comes in very close connection with the prosperity of the wool trade generally. If spinners are slack and frames standing, it simply means that tho consumption of wool is at oiu-o reduced, hut when they are busy, the raw material is shifted. I am glad to be able to say that ar tile present time with the exception -of an isolated case, spinners are in the happy position of being able to keep their frames fully occupied, while those engaged in merino qualities are exceedingly busy- A close student of the wool trade must have observed that the prosperity of the industry during the past three or four years has been largely due to the briskness of this brane h. Not only arc' innumerable ; qualities and counts being sun to-day, , but the diversity of the trade is such an to offer a strong and striking contrast to what we saw even a dozen i years ago. One lias only to think of the great increase in the spinning qualities of wool compared with quite . recent times to see how the different ; classes ma ks it possible for the spinn- . mg to turn out such a great variety ; of yarns. Wool can now be obtained . from 28’s to 100.’s quality, and this - lias opened out- a wide field for devel- , -opuient at the hands of spinners. The great frozen meat industry with its corollary, the crossbred wool trade, . has -placed in the hands of topmakers i and spinners a wonderful variety of , raw material, and this has undoubtedly tended to multiply the variety of ■ yarns., which -have brought- financial ; benefit to- both tho spinner -and the [ manufacturer. In the old days the , only glasses available viere merinos • and qualities supplied by English mut- . ton sheep, hut to-day with the large , variety of raw material coming -from . New Zealand and the. River Plate the . productive capacity of tho spinner has . boon wonderfully enlarged, and he has , turned to real good account all 'the different qualities which have come within his reac-h. Then again, there is the development of the colored yarn trade which ’• has an important hearing on the price ’ and movement of, raw wool itself. What a transformation is seen here. Twenty-five years ago if a man wanted , colored yarns he had to dye the wool in its raw state, whereas to-day that | is seldom clone. The wool is first combed, and the top dyed, while large quantities of yarns are dyed when they are spun. One has only to look down the -shade card of a c-ob-red spinner to find hundreds of different shades, blendings, and mixings, all of which are produced in a mutitude of fabrics from super rainpro-ofs to ordinary tweeds, while the innumerable costume cloths worn to-day by the gentler sex also illustrate the great vchange which has come over the wool 'industry, generally. Tho introduction of all these varied improvements has to a large -extent revolutionised the spinning trade. In many cases it has brought great wealth to spinners, there being plants to-day in the West Riding running anywhere Train 10 to 50 thousand spindles. All this reverts to the consumption of the raw material, and gives an -explanation of the present large demand for -raw wool. CONDITIONS VERY SOUND. This week has not brought out anything particularly new in connection

with tho market, but it is more -evident than over that the raw material is resting upon a very firm and satisfactory foundation. Tho Brisbane wool sale last week did real good. To ho advised that prices wore in sellers’ favor convinced everyone of tho futility of expecting prices to ease, and topmakers are worse to deal with than ever they were. I cannot say that any more money can he maae, but it is possible for topmakers to optain what they are asking more freely. A fortnight ago some fairly big weights of 64’s were disposed of at 25j‘d, but these spot lots have all been cleared, and to-day the majority are very firm at 26d, ...id some will not accept a fraction less than 26’,d. This is very good news, and clearly indicates'what may be expected in tbc future- Already the eyes of the trade are being turned towards the coming- . July sales in ■Coleman Street, hut nobody is -expecting cheaper wool. There is every likelihood of ab-out, last sale’s closing values obtaining,- but as for being able to secure merinos at anv less, that does not appear to be at- all likely. The fact is, consumption is so large, that prospective supplies seem to be mortgaged, and aitnoiign with the fairly heavy -offerings of new clip wools in Sydney and Brisbane during May, Juno and July, there is little prospect of any Autumn squeeze the wool in -sight will be wanted ana easily absorbed. THE ENGLISH NEW CLIP.

The marketing of the English new clip is now well under way, some very I -important sales having taken place this week. Readers may be surprised to learn that very little home grown wool is consumed in the woollen trade of the West Riding, but that is nevertheless the case. Practically the whole of the domestic clip of Great Britain is consumed in the worsted and hosiery industries, the wools being first- of all combed into tops. This is rather unique, but is easily understood by those who possess a practical knowledge of the principles of the woollen manufacture. A good hundred years ago the merino was bred in fair numbers in the South and Midland counties of England, and we are confident that this sheep played an important part in the production of the English Down breeds. We know a few firms in the Leeds district who are largo makers of khaki fal>rics, who use a little Down wool in their blends, but on the whole Australian merino a.id New Zealand fine crossbred form the -bulk of tile- material used. Still, the marketing of the domestic- clip lias an important bearing upon the whole of the West Riding textile industry, for home grown wools are used in the production of many popular cloths. Both wool merchants and topmakers seem keen to operate, and it is remarkable than they should be buying so liberally, and paying such good prices. All t;he recent talk about the unprofitable nature of the last English clip seems in the ears of many people so much nonsense when the very same parties are keen to acquire the new domestic wools, and pay exactly the same price as they did twelve months ago. Whatever may be the ultimate effect of this line of action, there can be no doubt that a spirit of confidence prevails which to a large extent is determining the eonduct of operators, and the outlook for business in yarns and pieces continues to be good.