QUALITIES OF WOOL

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 27 September 1933, Page 5

QUALITIES OF WOOL

VARIED FLEECE CHARACTEitiSf iCte. ADDRESS AT MANOAMiNGI. There was an attendance of over fifty members of the Eitham branch or the Farmers’ Union at Mangannngi last li.glit, when an illustrated lecture on wool was given by Mr J. G. Cook, ol the Department of Agriculture. Mr P. Jenkins, president ol the branch, welcomed Mr Cook and aiso Mr K. R. Demze, inspector of stock at Hawe.a, and Mr E. Iv. Cameron, provincial secretary of tlie union. Air Cook gave an informative address on the subject of wool generally, stressing the value or wool instruction. He paid a tr.bute to the work of the English scientists for their research alt-vities in connect-on with wool. Slides were shown depicting the structure ol the -sheep’s skin and its various parts, all of wh:cli had a bearing on the quality of tlie fleece. The lecturer -mid that nature had a wonderful way of arranging to pioteet the surface of the skin from injury. Deadlier with wool fibre, Mr Cook said there were four types-—pure wool, broken medullary fibre, hairy wool and kemp. He instanced tlie wool of the best type- of sheep, stressing its evenness of quality, its elasticity and pliable formation and its ablity to take any dye. Mr Cook advocated strongly the use of tlie best type of rams in the flocks of the country in order to get the best quality of wool and added that>fanners would never improve the qualitv while tlie stud rams were glowing faulty wool • that faults could not be eliminated while using fibres of a hairy quality. Air -Cook showed pictures of sheds which were as near perfect a-s possible and explained the best methods t-o be used in the shed. He gave illustrations of the sorting and classing and displaying of wool in tlie warehouses and a senes of pictures of the operations -of a woollen factory, right up. to the finished product. He also gave some points on the features to be looked for on the wall-formed and grown sheep, so as t-o secure the best wool and the carcase which would hr in;-? best returns to the farmers.

The pictures and the explanations "nd comments made bv Air Cook were followed with keen interest and at the r—n elusion a vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer for his address.