WOOL CLASSING

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 313, 2 December 1933, Page 5

WOOL CLASSING

MASSEY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE MONTHLY BULLETIN. (By R. Dossor.) (Continued.) (a) General; The woollen manufacturing industry, in tho larger manufacturing countries, is broadly specialised to meet the requirements of (a) the worsted and (b) the woollen trades. Although at one time these two important branches of tho industry used entirely different types of raw wool, today, the distinctions are not so marked; and it is mainly by the methods by which the yarn is manufactured that the worsted and woollen trades are disw. •mished. Nevertheless, the special charavl’nstics of the raw fibre will largely inn, ’nee its nse by one or other of these branches. The wide variety of goods produced by each trade has involved a specialisation in manufacture which calls for specialised types of wool. It is evident, therefore, that if the wool producer hopos to meet the special. requirements of the manufacturers he must display his clip in such a way that all wool of the same type, suited for the same branch of the manufacturing industry is grouped and placed before the buyer in one line. There are many factors which govern tho type of wool and tho branch or section of the industry for which it is best suited. Length of staple is of great importance. Generally speaking, the long- 1 er wools are used for the worsted trade and the shorter wools are used for the woollen trade, but this factor alone, with the modern methods of manufacture, is not of such great importance today as it was in the past. The characteristics influencing the specialised use and therefore the demand for, wool may be listed as follows:

Quality (count or fibre), length, soundness, colour, handle, elasticity and felting property, and purity of fibre. It is not possible, however, for the woolgrower, or the commercial wool-classer to class a clip according to all these factors, unless he has a large clip from which he is able to make numerous saleable lines. Fine, or detailed classing of this nature is usually done overseas by a sorter who sorts the grades of wool contained in each individual fleece, into classes as required by the manufacturer. When fleeco classing is carried out prior to sale, either by a professional classcr or wool grower, the fleeces are classed according to quality (or count), condition, vegetable matter content, length of staple, soundness, colour, handle, character and purity, the idea being to prepare fairly largo lines of even type and condition. The systems of grading wool and the nomenclature of tho grades varies throughout the world. The grades used in New Zealand conform to tho Brad ford System of Counts, but the nomenclature differ in many cases from that used in England, Australia and other countries. The following grades and their nomenclature are used for wool-classing generally throughout New Zealand:— Count. Grade SO’s Fine Merino. 70’s Medium Merino, 60’s Strong Merino 58’s Quarter Bred 56’s Half Bred. 52’s Three-quarter Bred. 48 ’s Fine Crossbred. 46’s Medium Crossbred. 40’s Crossbred. 36's Coarse Crossbred or Lincoln. Special wools such as Down and Corriedale wools are usually classed separately and named accordingly. A wool-classer, more especially a classer of a large clip, has many responsibilities. He has not only to grade the wool but to decide how the grades are to be grouped and what the sizs of the classes shall be. He must also supervise tho handling and the preparation of the wool for sale so that it will open up for inspection in the most attractive manner. When tho size of a clip permits intensive classing, it is generally considered inadvisable to mix together fleece wools of the following types: (a) ewe wool, which forms the bulk of tho New Zealand wool clip, usually of medium quality, condition and length; (b) wether wool, heavier in condition, stronger in quality and poorer in colour; (c) ram’s wool, the heaviest in condition, longest and strongest wool in the clip; (d) hogget wool, usually the most valuable of the mature fleeco wool on account of its superior length, handle, quality and character, and (e) lambs wool, which, although fleece wool, is different in every respect from other wools. New Zealand clips, generally speaking, can be divided into three types: (a) crossbred clips; (b) halfbred and Corriedalo clips; and (e) Merino clips, which constitute approximately 80 per cent., 14 per cent., and 6 per cent., respectively of the total clips. (a) Crossbred Clips: Most crossbred clips are classed according to the same plan and, unless tho clip is exceptionally even or uneven, the following classes of sound fleece wool are usually made: — (1) Top line, consisting of the fine crossbred wool, of bulk 48’s quality and good length, colour and even condition. (2) Second line, consisting of medium crossbred wool of 44/46’s quality, with good length, colour and even condition. (3) Third line, consisting of the coarse crossbred wool 44’s quality and under, with good length, colour and even condition. The size of the respective classes depends upon the size and evenness of the clip.. In clips of 50 bales or more each of the above classes maybe subdivided into two or more lines :^- 1. Fine crossbred A, consisting of bulk 48's quality, containing all tho soundest, brightest and longest wool in the fine crossbred class. 2. Fine crossbred B, consisting of bulk 48’s quality, containing the inferior fine crossbred wool. The other classes may be divided in a similar manner. With clips of less than 50 bales, the original classes are usually sufficient. (b) Halfbred and Corriedale clips are generally of medium to large size clips and the following classes are usually made:— (1) Quarterbred or fine Corriedale, 58’s quality.

(2) Halfbred or strong' Corriedale, 54/56’s quality.

(3) Thrce-quarterbred or strong Corriedale, 50/54’s quality.

It is quite frequent, however, in the case of uneven halfbred and Corriedale clips, to find lower grades of wool, and also a considerable variation in the types of wool in the same class. In these cases it may be necessary to make more classes or to subdivide the classes already described. (c) With Merino clips, which are usually large and comparatively even in type and quality, it is seldom necessary to make a large number of lines. Tho classes as a rule, are: — (1) “A” Merino, 64/70’s quality. (2) “B” Merino, 60 ’s quality. (3) Quarterbred or fine halfbred, 56/58’s quality.

In addition to the clean and sound classes of fleece wool in the various types of clips, there aro other fleeces that' cannot bo classed with the main lines. These fleeces, which are commonly spoken of as oddments, contain faulty wool such as (1) seedy wool, (2) broken and tender wool; (3) dingy and stained wool; (4) cotted wool); (5) black wool, etc.

It is necessary in a clean and sound clip that all faulty wools as described above should bo separated from the main lines of fleece wool, as the commercial value- of such wool is considerably lower than that of clean 1 and sound material. In large clips a considerable amount of faulty wool may be collected, in which case it is possible to make lines, or complete bales of each type of faulty wool, but with small clips this is seldom possible and the faulty wools may be grouped together to be reclasscd by a commercial broker prior to sale.

With all classed and skirted clips further oddments such as (1) pieces or skirtings, (2) necks, (3) bellies, (4) locks, and (5) crutchings, are collected. (1) The quantity and quality of pieces depend upon the condition and types of the clip and upon the method of skirting. Pieces consist of the inferior wool that is removed from the fleece during the process of skirting. It is advisable to sort the pieces when the fleece is being skirted. Pieces are classes according to their length, con dition and colour, when beiug ported at the same time as the wool clip. To obtain the greatest value from the pieces the long, light conditioned pieces are separated from the short, heavy conditioned and stained pieces, and are labelled first and second pieces respectively. When the range of pieces is great, more classes may be made, such as (1) seedy pieces, (2) urine stained pieces, etc. Since it is seldom possible to obtain complete lines or bales of pieces except in the very large clips, most pieces are interlotted or “binned” by a broker prior to sals.

(2) Necks, if clean and free from vegetable matter arc the most valuable of all the piece oddments. If the size of the clip warrants the necks being separated or if the necks are seedy, it will certainly pay to sell them apart from the'other pieces. “Necks” may be classed into lines according to their condition, quality and the amount ol vegetable matter that they contain. When the. clip is too small to justify tho “necks” being separated, they are usually mixed and sold with the first pieces. (3) Bellies form a large part of the piece oddments and should, if the clip is to be prepared in the best manner, always be removed from the fleece wool. Tho quantity of bellies, as with other pieces, determines the advisability of classing. If classing is possible they are classed according to their condition and cleanliness. Bellies of male sheep should always be separated from ewe bellies, as they are usually urine stained, which lowers their value considerably. . (4) Locks are the lowest in value and tho smallest in quantity of the piece oddments. They consist of secondcuts, floor sweepings and short pieces that fall from the fleece during the classing operations. There is seldom, if over, a sufficient quantity of locks in a clip to warrant classing, although in a wool store, where-a large quantity is handled, locks are usually classed according to their length, condition and type. (5) Crutchiings form a large part. of the piece oddments, and in most clips there is sufficient of them to make classing worth while. They consist of the wool shorn during crutehing. These pieces aro usually badly stained with dung or urine and the quality being the poorest on the sheep. They are classed according to theiir quality, cleanliness and length. In a medium sized clip two lines, viz., first crutchings and second crutchings arc usually suffleient to make satisfactory classing. It is as well at this stage to discuss briefly the two special cases of (a) lamb’s wool and (b) dead wool. , (a) Lamb’s wool is wool shorn from lambs during their first year, usually about the age of five months. All lambs are not shorn, but there is a growing tendency in the North Island to shear store lambs in the autumn on much of the low country, tt is also necessary, on much poor, weed infested hill country, to shear the lambs before the seeds ripen and adhere to tho wool. Lambs’ wool in most cases, commands the highest price of any wool in a clip and should, if there is sufficient, be classed into grades according to length, colour and type. Length and colour in this ease aro frequently of greater importance than either type or quality. (b) Dead wool, a wool plucked Or shorn from the carcases of dead sheep, is frequently found in most clips, but tho quantity as a rule is small and therefore pot worth classing on the farm. In most cases, however, this wool is classed by tho broker prior to sale. As the dead wool in a clip may be gathered at any time during the season, the length, colour, condition and soundness will vary considerably, which will make it impossible to class satisfactorily on the farm the small quantity available. Although most Now Zealand wool clips are classed according to the general principles already 1 described it is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules that would be applicable to all individual cases since the types, size and evenness of clips vary so greatly throughout the country. The most difficult problem confronting all woolclassers, whether they are classing the clip on the farm or in a wool store, is to decide upon the number and hence tho size of the lines to be made. Every

wool-classer, however, must consider the following points:— (I) Within limits, the larger the line the more attractive it will be to the more important buyers. (II) Lines should be kept as even and as large as possible. (III) It is not advisable to mix wools suited for the worsted trade with wools suited only for the woollen trade. Farm and Store Classing: It is necessary now to consider the relative advantages of:—(a) Classing at shearing time, and (b) classing in a commercial wool store prior to sale. The stage at which it is best to class tho clip depends very largely upon (a) the size and type of tho clip; (b) the size and suitability of tho woolshed for classing purposes; (c) the efficiency and amount of shed labour available, and (d) the time at which the clip is to be sold. (B) Classing the Clip at Shearing Time. The wool classer who classes a clip at shearing time, when the wool is newly shorn, has the advantage of being able to view the whole fleece when it is in a perfectly fresh condition, before the yolk has commenced to set, or tho staples have been opened up by handling and rough treatment, all of which tend to spoil the appearance of the fleece. The size and type of the clip is of first importance when deciding upon the advisability of classing tho clip at shearing time or having it classed by a brokor prior to sale. If a clip is very uneven in quality and type and small in size, say 30 bales or less, it is usually extremely difficult for a classer to obtain even lines of a saleable size. In a case such as this it is generally more profitable to tho grower to have the clip classed by a broker who is able to group and bin all wool than cannot be made into lines of a saleable size. On the other hand, if there are sufficient bales to make lines of an attractive size, it will be more efficient to class the clip at shearing time, provided that there are suitable conditions in the shed for this work. The sizo and suitability of the woolshed for classing purposes has a direct bearing on the value of early classing. In New Zealand many shearing sheds are unfortunately • imperfectly adapted to their purpose, so that in many cases classers have to work under extremely difficult conditions. Unsatisfactory lighting, small, badly shaped and poorlyplaced wool tables, insufficient wool bins and wool bins too small to contain a bale of wool are frequently found. In such circumstances it is impossible for a classer to achieve satisfactory results particularly where, as is quite common, the workroom is too small.

In tho larger woolsheds where a large number of shearers are employed, insufficient and inefficient shed-hands often cause the classer much inconvenience. In these cases the wool is roughly handled and its appearance considerably damaged. Careless skirting, bad rolling and bad pressing are common faults in shed classed clips and all these are duo to inefficient labour. In the selection of this labour the classer has little say, although he is responsible for the wool from the time it leaves the shearing board till it is finally sewn up into the bales and has sole charge of the labour employed in the handling of the clip. It would seem reasonable to allow the classer to choose his assistants, but, in most cases, they either come with a shearing gang or are engaged by the farmer who usually picks the men that are quick and useful in the shed, but pays little attention to their knowledge of wool and wool

handling. If more care were taken in the selection of shed-hands the work of the classer would be lightened arid the get-up of the clip would be greatly improved. Some wool growers, for some reason or other, may be unable to sell their wool during the same year that it is shorn or may wish to avoid selling on a falling market. In such cases it is necessary to store the wool for some considerable time and generally it is wise to re-condition it prior to sale. Normally it will bo more efficient class the clip at the time of re-condi-tioning, when any badly stained or discoloured fleeces can be picked out from the good wool. When a clip has to be classed after storage it is best, in most cases, to forward tho whole, unclassed clip to a broker to class prior to sale. Except in the case of small and uneven clips, and clips that are not to be sold soon after being shorn, it is undoubtedly better to class the clip at shearing time, provided that the conditions under w-hich the classer has to work are satisfactory. Most wool brok-> ers recommend their clients to have their wool classed in the store prior to sale, but in many cases this recommendation, which is usually an honest piece of advice, is given solely because the broker realises that it is impossible for any classer to class a clip satisfactorily in many of the woolsheds. Inefficient labour and unsatisfactory woolsheds can easily be remedied by the w-00l grower and it has been proved that shed classing at shearing time is efficient and economical with most medium to large wool clips.