YORKSHIRE WOOL LETTER.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 258, 6 November 1911, Page 6

YORKSHIRE WOOL LETTER.

INFLUENCE OF THE MERINO ON THE WOOL . WORLD. .

BRADFORD, Sept. 30. Has the reader ever thought about the influence of the merino sheep on the textile trader" This subject is forced upon my mind after having a very intelligent txmversatiou with one of Australia's largest squatters who paid me a visit two days ago ill Worstedopoli6. This gentleman left this country in 1876 and to-day his sheep stocks muster nearly three quarters of a million of merinos. Of oourse his stations in Queensland, lend thoniselves almost exclusively to the rearing and breeding of fine sheep, aud he appears well satisfied -sith what he is doing. When I tell readers that ho is marketing annually at least 10,000 bales of wool the size o£ his property oan easily be judged, and his cry is still "onward." It is tihe old story over again that "notihiog succeeds like success." The seven years of drought naturally reduced both the value of his properties and nearly wiped out his flocks, but Dame Nature has smiled upon him, and to-day he is the owner of some of the best sheep in Australia. Naturally our conversation turned largely upon fine wool, and we both agreed that as long as the world lasts there will always be a satisfactory demand for fine material. Then the squatter's mind went forcibly back to the lean y<firs of 1895, wiien some of his best scoured combing merino wool sold in London as low as lOd. I shall not be surprised if wool from the same station does not fetch next week in Coleman Street over 2s, but. in any case he will receive at least an all round 6d per pound more for his scoured combing, clothing, broken and pieces. This masii make a big difference in the actual returns of the station, and a-pells che difference between profit and loss. Of course, my friend had fthe wisdom not to talk in'flno big a strain, and displayed a Yorkshireman's sound, common sense. No doubt like hundreds -more he is on velvet, but. I say that Australian pastoralists well deserve all they reoeive. Somo of these years there is bound to be a series of droughts, and then sheep will drop off like llies on a ©old, frosty October night in England. It is however the influence of tih.e merino in tho textile trade which I think deserves consideration. THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH DOWN BREED. Quite recently I was reading an account of tihe wool trade as far back a^ IS2O when Great Britain's supplies of fine wool were, practically oonfined to Spanish merinos. Even in that day England was the market of the world for the raw material grown outside its own shores, altjhough thd importations of Spanish merino sheep made during the days of King Georgo 111. were making thoir influence felt in British sheep stocks. Some day I hope to give an article on this most interesting subject, aud in passing it may interest* readers to know that there still exists in Suffolk a little flock of , pure bred merinos, the wool from ; which would surprise many a Colonial; pastoralist. As I write I have before ■ me a sample shorn last June, and it: shows a good 64's quality, and would j ■flompars quite favorably with the j

majority of the merino clips of Australia for length, soxindness, serration and quality. The sample is a little yolky, bufc.i3iat.iti not really a deficiency. Without doubt the influence of the merino importations in the

early part of the nirietseentjh century is to, be seen to-day, as plainly as possible in the Down breeds of Great Uritain! I have always.maintained that in the. Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire and Dorset Down breeds there is merino blood, and tjhe more I read of the early, history of sheep breeding in the last century, the more convinced, am I that the Down breeds have been made by crossing the native sheep witlr tlie merino, and to-day with the lapse of tdme, and in breeding the features have become a fixed type in the Down breeds of Great Britain. Any practical tr.au has only to study the fibre foriaatxvfn of the Down breeds of England to see a strong resemblance to the merino, the only difference being that English i Down wool is more fluffy or blobby (than the pure merino^ It may surprise some readers, but we know whore a superior lot of Soutiidown wool has quite recently been blended iwiiJh Colonial 60's in the production jof merino tops. MEItlN© FABHICS LEGION. It is not so much a tjuestion of merino blood in English Down sheep ' about which I want to speak as what I merino wool has done for the texi tile trade of Europe., Who can say ' w hat- it has noifc done ? If we go : back to the early days of last cen- ! tury and. trace the use of. Spanish merino wool, and then Saxony and Silesia merinos by the manufacture of tttie West Riding, we have a chapter which almost baffles comprehension, but the use of the fleece of these Continental sheep was all the time paving the way foi the large use of Australian and South African merinos, and io-clay we have a oolos.oal industry which no human mind oan fully comprehend. As the Australian squatter and the writer sat till nearly midnight talking over various things connected with the trad!© conversation naturally turned to the new avenues of consumption for fine wools which had opened .out during the pastii twenty-five years, and wo boi>h agreed tjhese Would continue to remain, open be* cause nothing tut line wool would satisfy the demand of the public in ■'■their call for fine, soft under garments, socles, eto., all of which consume large quantities of merino wool. i The fabrics which are being made '] from. 60'e to 70's quality material j are legion, and crossbreds would be altogether tmsuitable for that purpose. At the same time, tjhe latter ■ are going into certain channels of consumption where they serve a much better purpose than merinos, and that aspect of the wool trade might some day be discussed witih advantage. Ir. merino wool the trade has an a.rticle of first! importance,; >. and in the production of such useful commodities as fine serges, worsted coatings, dress goods, fine woollen ; fabrics and flannels, fine wool is env ! ployed. No matter from what \ standpoint' the merino trade is I viewed, I am certain no man living can comprehend and fully detail the influence which an adequate supply j jof fine wool is having upon tlie tex- ) tile industry of Europe and Amerii rjn, and it is to be hoped that pastor- j j alisfts "down under" will_ continue to supply tihe manufacturing world

with raw material frqin which to make tli© v endless variety of goods whirih we see to-day. MERINOS' INFLUENCE IN EVOL-

VING CROSSBRED SHEEP

There is another side to the merino sheep and wool trade which must not be lost sight of. The great trade that is being done today in "freezers" is entirely the product of the merino sheep; in other, words, it is tine mating of tJie English sire with the fine woolled animal. But for this crossing of the two distinct breeds New Zealand and the River Plate would to-day be in a very differenti position, for no man will deny, ijhe fact that the breeding ot mutton sheep for English, markets has brought in its train prosperity to thousands of pastioralists. The writer well remembers the beginning, of this dolossal industry, and the great change which has oomo over th© flocks of the Dominion and the Argentine is entirely due to tius cause. Many wool buyers have bemoaned the fact of the of the merino in New Zealand by the crossbred, but »it is one of those natural developments which, no- man can stand against. The merino, no doubt is a disappearing quantity in the flocks of New Zealand as well as the River Plate, but all the same so long as South Africa and Australia continue to breed the merino I think they will be able to supply the world's needs of fine wool. Nature seems to have fitted these countries to grow- tibis breed of. sheep, al--1 though no doubt there are certain i localities where crossbreds can be bred and kept to advantage. All the same,'.l/he bulk of pastoralists in the two countries named can undoubtedly farm,1 the merino; on a more profitable basis than mutton sheep, and I here make a strong plea for them to continue to breed that which nature and olimate has, fitted them for. In the production of men and women's wear fabrics I am satisfied that fine wool mil always have the premier plaoe, far it is natural for human beings to relish, something -soft and; fine in preference to heavier and rougher made fabrics "which the crossbred produces. The influence of the _ merino is, everywhere seen, and mankind has rijsen to the occasion by inventing machinery-for the successful manipulation of fine wool, and when I tell readers tjhafc even short six months' Cape wool, can be combed, it only serves to show what perfection has be»n arrived at in the equipment of modern mills. All thel .same no man advocates tihe shearing of merino sheep twice a year, and I am glad that Australian pastoralists set the rost of tbe world a Jioble example in this respect. What is everywhere wanted is an adequate supply of fine wool, and if this is only forthcoming, I am satisfied thati good prices will continue to prevail. As far as one «^an see it will be a long time before values for fine wool drop so low as they did in 1895, and although there ia certain to be fluctuations, yet I think that with each succeeding season good and satisfactory prices will be paid for merino wool. ! The situation in Bradford does not ■show much change compared with a week ago, but things are no worse. That realty is not saying a great deal, and we wish we could report an accession of new business sufficiently large in volume to make ite influence- felti upon the market. Really speaking the majority engaged in handling merinos and crossbreds do not want to see higher values, and although partial loss would have to be faced upon present stocks, yet that would be a small item compared to being able to buy; larger supplies at less money. The clearing of the Continental political atmosphere has created a somewhat brighter tone, and all alike are disposed to look to the future with a little more confidence. At tihe same time there has I not been any real improvement in actual business, and it is possible to buy on the sals level of values as a week ago. . . '<