WOOL INDUSTRY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 291, 6 November 1934, Page 6

WOOL INDUSTRY

FEATURES FOR IMPROVEMENT

SCOTTISH EXPERT’S ADVICE.

Community handling of small individual clips in order to secure better classification, and endeavours to reach a basis of agreement whereby seasonal prices would be stabilised, were two features advocated for .the improvement of the New Zealand wool industry by Dr Thomas Oliver, D.Sc., principal emeritus of the Scottish AVoollen Technical College, Galashiels, during an interview with a “Standard” representative to-day.

“New Zealand flocks as a whole are very good,” commented Dr Oliver, “and the studs are excellent, but there are numbers of ordinary flocks which are much below standard, due to carelessness in breeding and attention to the flock, and insufficient care taken in farming generally. The yield of lambs is much lower than in England or Scotland, where 1000 lambs from 1000 ewes would be considered poor business. Indeed, 1500 lambs from as many ewes in the lower lying land would be quite average practice. “The wool is remarkably uniform all over the fleece in the studs of New Zealand,” added Dr Oliver. “In the smaller flocks in the South Island there is great variation in the consignments of wool forwarded, due to too small a number of bales being yielded from some farms for proper classification. Community handling of such wool would be an advantageous system, so that several clips could be combined and properly graded. Manufacturers do not care to have in the one bale wool of Merino quality mixed with midd.eclass crossbred. “There have been strong protests made against the Romney cross produced in the North Island of late years. In Bradford it is averred that the staple is interspersed with strong hairs, consequently reducing the average quality, but the most serious aspect is the difficulty in eradicating the hair by sorting. AA 7 here this is the case, the wool has to be classed on the basis of its coarsest component. It is quite likely that it would not be so serviceable as a coarser wool of uniform quality -would be. “It may well be urged, of course,” added Dr. Oliver, “that since the manufacturer is not paying a remunerative price to the wool-grower the latter is quite entitled to make the development of the carcase his principal interest, regarding the wool merely as a side issue. Unfortunately, last year wool prices jumped up prematurely, and the inevitable fall this year has been very disconcerting. It would be advisable to arrive at some sort of agreement whereby wool woxdd be more uniformly distributed, because a 5 per cent, shortage in supply raises the price unduly, while a 5 per cent, surplus 'depresses values to a corresponding degree. Both these divergences are quite untenable under ordinary conditions, and should never happen if there was a proper understanding between the producers and users of wool. The middlemen are apt to create scares for their own advantage, but often they are as badly bitten as the others. Hence the aim of all concerned in the industry should be to secure greater stability of prices.” Dr. Oliver addressed the Citizens’ Lunch Club to-day, and visited the wool research department at the Massey Agricultural College. He has been seven weeks in New Zealand and, with Airs Oliver, sails for Australia on November 22.