OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 3944, 29 May 1913, Page 3

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

WOOL CLASSING VERSUS WOOL SORTING. [FROM OUR OWN COBBEBPONDENT2 "J ■ BRADFORD, April 18. Already,the <oming sales are casting their shadows before them, the eyes of the whole trade being fixed upon Coleman Street. After all it is as well that the trade should come together in such a way, for without doubt the entire wool world then sees where the raw material stands. . As only about a month has elapsed since the last auctions terminated, it will bo realised that very little time lias been given tho "trade to “turn round,” as they say in Yorkshire, and it would llano been as well if the series had begun a fortnight later. . Woolmen will meet next week with the buying spirit of the entire consuming world focussed upon Coleman Street, there being no auctions “down under” to divide purchasing power. Practically speaking, a 1! buyers are now back from Australasia, and although we have known a brighter outlook, still there is nothing wrong with the wool situation, except that the trade at the moment needs perhaps a longer breathing space in order to digest more fullv the arrivals, and to fool some relief from the heavy financial demands which are being made upon them. The auctions will open with the trade not very hungry for supplies, but we fully expect that, there will be a good series, with prices for merinos on a parity with what were realised at the March auctions. Crossbreds look like being tho dark horse, and it will take them ail tlieir time to mako last series’ closing prices. What the trade wants to-day is cither active American competition, or more support at the hands of Germany, but to all appearances neither country will be a big buyer of crossbreds at the forthcoming auctions.

WOOL CLASSING. Perhaps there are no two treatments to which wool is subjected which are so much alike 'as wool classing. and wool sorting. From a purely technical point of view, little or no difference could be pointed out, and even in a practical sense, there is very little dissimilarity. Both have one object in view', that is the bringing of the material into the proper state for the first processes of manufacture. The great difference between the two is that one is subsequent upon the other, and only carries out to a greater perfection, what has already been commenced in the first. Wool classing -is or should' be done on the farm or station, wool sorting is done in tho manufacturing centres. When speaking about wool classing, right at the outset we are brought face to face with an important phase of 'the subject ; that is, its practicability. The nature of the subject )s such that no folly would be greater than to dogmatise upon it and to say that all wool needs to be classed on the farm, and that those who do not do so are guilty of a flagrant transgression which dupes the buyer and robs the grower of what is his by right. The truth of the case is that even wool classing is not without its grimly humorous side so far as actually attained results are concerned. We hear of men taking great pains with their clips and then making no more money than those who shoved their wool throng a anyhow, never bothering to put it into the so-called best shape for selling. All this sounds very derogatory to wool-classing, but after all it cannot be ignored as a means for securing greater values. The best explanation of those cases of classing which bring no commensurate results is probably that one important fact that has been overlooked, namely, no matter how well wool may bo classed, the man who buys it must know the value of classing and be willing to pay accordingly. Growers often come in for a good deal of criticism upon the unsatisfactory way in which their clips have been got up, and this in spitd of the fact that great progress has been made, but after a'-! there is a possibility that some hindrance stands in tho way of even greater advances in the form of a lack of better knowledge on the part of buyers.

Turning now to the more immediate circumstances which decide whether classing shall be done or not, we find that there is really one point which need detain us, that is, as to whether the clip is large enough. It is usoless to think of classing a mere handful of wool. The probability is that the smaller the clip the less room there is for variety. If we take the simplest and most, obvious division, hogs and wethers, in some cases the separation of these would in tho eyes of the large user present something akin to the ludicrous. It is settled that unless there is something to go at, the best thing tho grower can do is to be satisfied with preparing his clip as a whole, and making it as attractive as possible. Hi is consists in folding the fleeces in a respectable fashion, and putting nothing in with them which is not wool. It is not unlikely that any reader will make the same serious slip as a "grower of mohair in 'Turkey, who accidentally got a whole kid amongst bis clip! Such an- incident only serves to illustrate vividly what harm can ba done by sheer carelessness. The fleeces are better folded on a table, fis tho work can thereby be done with greater ease and facility than on the ground, and there is a little difficulty ill keeping the floor clean. Tho fleeces should be laid flesh side downwards and opened out flat without tearing them "asunder. If this is done all stained and dirty parts will be visible and can be. readily removed. Whatever is or is not done with the wool, these dirty parts should bo removed; they add weight, but cTo not contribute to the value of the clip, nude of all practices which deserve to be stigmatised as disgraceful, allowing fleeces to be rolled up without being properly cleaned, is the worst. In /the days when English wool was worth considerably-more than it is today, farmers used to keep all the cloddings as they called them, and putting them into water, allowed them to remain there till they were thoroughly soaked) and the dirt could then be removed. Afterwards the wool was taken out and dried, being kept to go along with the fleeces next year. _ 'lt is questionable whether such an economical plan would be worth while to-day, indeed tho writer would say it is as obsolete as tho time of excessive wool values, and in thes-fe days of expedition We seem to have little time for playing about with such small -matters. In all cases, however, the fleeces should be freed of every piece of rubbish and made as presentable ns possible.

After the fleece lias been cleaned there eomes the folding. This is a most simple matter, and whilst it must.bo acknowledged that though the way the wool is folded’ does not alter its quality or condition in any way, properly folded fleeces■ are not only better to handle, but they take op less room. Of course light ..conditioned wools, that is wools that contain little or no natural grease, do not cling together as closely as heavier wools, particularly if no pressure is brought to hear upon them. The proper way is to fold the sides towards the middle, and to roll the fleeces so folded, starting-at the hind end. . If the fleece was whole to begin with, and the work has been done carefully, a decent roll of wool will be made, and if it is light and fluffy some means must be' devised, for keeping it ia shape. At the present time the most common method among English growers is to'make use of the neck end of the. fleeces by. twisting it, into a kind e-r: .band. aiid then. puttijig vi t iotfiid tire , whole lo.tdmaking if firm and s-ty mire. One might, naturally suppose that this method -would meet with

little or no criticism, but after the material has.left the grower an. 1 >s laid on the sorting board, sorters take exception to it. They say that when they come to deal with tho English fleeces they find that the grower lias put them to a lot of needless trouble. They are obliged to unfasten the band and' open it out to its proper shape before they can soc what it is like. No doubt the facts as presented are true. Compared with greasy Australian fleeces, English wools fastened in tho way described are difficult to deal with. ' The greasy character of tno former helps them to adhere, not only as individual fleeces, but it also makes the various fleeces hang together, so that opening a bale of wool is very much like peeling an orange; when the outside is taken off tho inside remains intact- but can bo broken up into sections. How far wool users are justified in condemning this method of fastening fleeces is perhaps difficult to sav. It is certainly better than some, of the known ways of doin" it and if all wool were left loose m a "tumble-down state, tho writer is disposed to think chat thero wouxl be re ill greater cause for conipiaint. loi the purposes of handling at any rate, the fastening is necessary, and though opening out a few thousand fleeces may take rather more time when the neck has been twisted and fastened, it seems somewhat unreasonable to c-xpect that it she'll be so packed tlia* it opens out automatically. In whatever way the wool is folded, one thing needs to be specially noted. Vegetable matter is most injurious m the sense that is prevents the P r °<ractioo of a satisfactory fabric This matter has been a good deal dismissed rcoentlv, and too much importance cannot* be attached to it. Like every other momentous question, its dcci6 ion does not rest upon other lai go issues, but upon the mercest details. The use of hemp or jute stung toi fastening the fleeces of wool .can bo condemned outright, but it 1S <iuit« evident to those who have investigated the matter and who have a piactical knowledge of it. that the vuno wavs in which string can be used apart from the specific purpose of fastening the fleeces, is a serious one. It. therefore follows that every means .should he adopted to keep piccses of strincr of all kinds out of the wool. Let it once find its voay into the material and it stops there, finally appearing in the finished piece and spoilin#i+ '. ' '