HOME WOOL LETTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 4898, 18 June 1918, Page 7

HOME WOOL LETTER.

BLACK WOOL AND ITS USES. ‘

(Prom Our Speoial Correspondent.) BRADFORD, April 25. Tile question of flannels is ono which can be discussed with enlightenment to the average reader. ,lhis article of every, day wear has played ■a very important part in the conduct of the war'. From August 4, 1914, to December 20, 1917, the M/ar Office had ordered no less than 150,248,000 yards of flannel for shirts, while hospital flannel had been ordered to the extent of 8,807,000 . yards. 11ns gives the reader some idea of the extensive' use of this fabric. Tup writer well remembers that up to twen-ty-five years ago, the average man seldom or never wore anything but a cotton shirt, and knew one old man who died, quite recently turned eighty who never wore either an undershn t or pants all his life.. It can truthfully be said that the wearing of undervests and pants, as well as woollen sliirts is quite a thing of modern times, and certainly anyone wearing th e s e “c o m f o r tab 1 e under-garments finds them conducive to health. in other words, the reforms which have j been instituted in the world of dress during the past twenty-five to thirty I years are remarkable, and in the ac--1 complishment of these reforms, wool j growers throughout the world have I materially benefited. A large pioportion of our consumption of black wool is now used in the making of flannels. - DIFFERENT CLASSES OF ARMY SHIRTING. A careful observer of either British or allied troops will have observed i that there is a differnce in the shirtj ings being supplied to the men on I the land and those on the sea. The former are clothed in what are known I as natural flannels, the latter being turned out in very good shirtings ( known as silver greys. Both are adI niirable and suitable fabrics. Why silver grey flannels should be made ! solely for the members of the fleet is | difficult to say. In order to obtain ' the shade, the wool used for giving the color is all indigo blue dyed, then blended with white wool, and in that way a ‘silver grey shade is obtained. This is an exceedingly sound, satisfactory flannel, wears well, is warm, and a little heavier in weight r than the shirting worn by the soldiers. TiTe writer has had more to 1 do with the manufacture of natural 1 than silver grev flannels, being identified with the Tatter before war was declared. The natural flannel that is being worn to-day is usually spoken , of in the trade as seventy-thirty. ' That may'he Latin- and Greek to the average reader, but it simply means that the blend for producing these natural flannels is composed of <0 per cent wool, and 30 per cent cotton. Perhaps some readers may find fault with the blend, but such a combination produces a fabric good enough to be worn by any man m the world, and the next time the reader sees a soldier, if ho will carefully ex “ amine the natural shirt he is wealing, he will he surprised with the weight, handle, finish and durability of the fabric. The price to-day is 2s 2fd per yard, 30 inches wide, wei°lit 6ozs to the yard. lhis is a far "better shirting than the average , citizen buys or wears, certainly being i a trifle heavier, while the heat re- ! tailing property is fully as good. I he I little cotton that is scribbled in with the wool blend gives .greater wearing capacity to the shirt, it will shrink less,, while the heat retaining P™P ei ‘- tv is not diminished a particle, these are all important points which are well worth noting. irivrri> . T » THE MEANING OF “N ATURAL. The reader may ask the question, What is meant by the word “natural P” and it is well worth answering. There is an apt quotation that there is a- black sheep m every flock, and it is that black sheep which is responsible for natural shirtings, and underwent fabrics. Pastoralists the wideworld over do wisely to keep the black fleeces apart from the vinte, 'because the- former are just as va - uable as the latter, in fact tlie viita ha, ’tin scores of times »t the Lemdon wool sales when a bale ol black wool has actually sold for more .than the white. The explanation is simp e enough to the practical man.■ Ihese black fleeces are usually bought, u manufacturers who produce natu « underwear or natural KVoy flannels and shirtings, commonly known m the trade as health flannels. Of course this is the dignfled et.nl term employed by the store-keepers. Let it be said at once that black, brown or natural grey wool, whatevei term is employed, must be regarded as very valuable, and is always most acceptable to the trade, particularly line crossbreds and merinos. Of course the latter , are by far the. most valuable, and fine black wool will always be as long as the world lasts. When this wool is scoured and tlie grease removed, it loses no color, but retains the natural beautiful black, brown or grey shade, which it had when shorn from the sheep that •black wool, as already indicated, is taken by the manufacturer, and is used for blending purposes. A natural underwear fabric is never so dark in color as tlie black wool, simply because in the blending room white is put to- the black or brown in order to secure the lighter shade which is exactly wliat one buys when lie- goes to the drapers for natural flannel or shirting. That color, is produced entirely by blending, m otliei voids, mixing together the black and white wool and possibly a. little cotton. M e again repeat that it is lmpossib ? over estimate the usefulness of these black fleeces, especially m qualities of wool from 56 J s Tiy/waicls. DY T EING WHITE WOOL .BLACIy. We need hardly remind the reader that the weight of black or. grey wool grown is far too limited x-o satisfy the extraordinary needs o the world to-day We . ..Jj! that in a fortnight the Hack wool that is grown in. the entire vo d could be used by Morkshin? flannel manufacturers who are na m-al flannels, certainly the entire production could be used m a month. Y difficulty of considerable magnitude, therefore, presents itself on account of the short supply, and, m older t<? get over the difficulty, manufacturers have for a long time had to resort to the dyeing of white vool a dark brown shade to resemble n.ntuial wool. This dyed wool is then blended with white to get the natural shade, and in that way the shoi t-ao-e of pure natural wool has been overcome. Still, it is remarkable that a natural flannel mado out ot dyed wool does not present the same “bloom” and shade as- that, made from undyed natural wool. This fact has been demonstrated over and ovc again, and no man can make as beautiful and attractive a piece from d> eel wool as can be produced from the natural grey, brown or black fleeces from the sheep. This is obvious to a practical manufacturer Alien two pieces are placed alongside each otlv ' er, but, of course, the average leader cannot tell the difference with the same,pr^m iERS , STmiT;S 'Another important point veil worth noting is that in the production of shirtings for soldiers, the nat- • urnl wool being used is of 56 s and upwards, though .nossiblv a ufacturers are using wools or- similai products of 50’s quality, though the specifications if My carried out should be nothing below 60 s. W 1 it is wonderful the sound, satisfactory natural flananels which are being

produced from blending even £6’s wool with something finer. There JS a fairly big test strength applied, for a piece lias to be passed by an official of the Department and very seldom--indeed does one have a complaint of an undergarment being badly made. We make the assertion that in the case of pants, undervests and shirtings, which are today being worn by both the army and navy of Great Britain and her allies, they will do credit to the average citizen in civil life, it being a remarkable fact that the British and Allied Governments have spared neither pains nor expense in turning out its whole fighting forces well clothed in every way. The present is certainly a loud call to sheep breeders and wool growers' in every country in the world. The raw- material is perishing faster than ever on the battlefields of Europe, . and the entire industry is in full sympathy with the movement across the Atlantic for “More sheep more wool,” a campaign which has not begun a moment too soon, and which will certainly result iu the good not only of the American textile industry, but the material benefit of the entire world.