THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20918, 7 January 1930, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS .ft y By Eusticus. * / Items of interest to those engaged in agricultural and paltoral'pursuito, with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. Thejr should be addressed to “Rusticus,” Otago Daily Times, Dunedin,

FORTHCOMING SHOWS. c January 10.—Blueskin. t January 12. —Tapanui. t January 17.—Waikouaiti. f January 24.—Palmerstou-Waihemo. v March 19.—Lake County. I April 21—Strath-Taieri. c 1930 WOOL SALES. I Dates of wool sales yet to be held in * the various selling centres with the allocations that have been decided upon by . the Wool Committee are as follows; ' January ll,—Wellington (27,000) c January 16. —Napier (25,!/00). , January 21. —Auckland (20,000!. „ January 24.—Wanganui (30,000). ,• January 30. —Invercargill (22,000). T February 4.—Dunedin (23,000). , February 7.—Timaru (18,000) t February 11.—Christcnureb (21.000). T February 19—Wellington 127.000). February 25.—Napier (25,000; March I.—Wanganui (20,000). March 7.—Christchurch (no limit). f March 12.—Dunedin (23,000). f March 14—Invercargill (nc limit). t 'larch 21.—Wellington (2V.%0) 6 March 24.—Napier (no limit). 1 March 28—Auckland (no limit). c April 3.—Dunedin (no limit). 1 —— 1 The Season’s Lambing. ( The lambing season in Otago was far | from unsatisfactory. From a total of 1 3,485,690 breeding ewes, it is estimated i that 3,152,468 lambs were born,' an aver- ; age percentage of 90.4. Canterbury has ( an estimated percentage of 92.1, the num- t ber of lambs in that province being set i down at 3,246,148. The mean estimated percentage for the Dominion is 88.65, and . it is stated that new season's lambs 1 throughout the whole country total < 14,722,214 head. The South Island aver- 1 age percentage is 80.87, and the North ( Island 87.56, both of which are slight 1 improvements upon the previous year. ( The Dominion average of 88,65 per cent, i compares favourably with the BG.o9.per 1 cent, recorded last season. i Otago’s Live Stock. ; The live stock figures for Otago for ! the year just closed are as follows: ! Horses 32,269 Asses and mules .... 5 ! •Cattle .. 128,664fDairy cows 54,087 j Sheep 1 .. 3,233,528 Lambs 1,734,898 Pigs 23,541 Goats 27 ‘ * Includes dairy cows, f Includes dry ■ cows. . ' j Dominion’s Live Stock. j Livestock in the Dominion at latest ! enumeration this year, and those for 1928. - compared as follow: 1 1929. 1928. 1 Horses .. .. 208,986 307,160 ] Asses and mules 237 250 ' Cattle* .. ~ 3,445,700 3,273,760 , Dairy cowsf .. 1,371,083 1,352,398 1 •Sheep and lambs 20.651,382 27.133,810 1 Pigs 556,732 - 586,803 1 Goats .. .. 32,226 24,251 1 i ’lncludes dairy cows, -(lncludes dry cows. C.O.R. Testing. j The November Certificate of Record list i in respect to Government testing of pure- i bred dairy cows, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Agriculture, in- < dudes the names of several Otago < breeders. In the Red Poll section Mr i John Donaldson, of Stirling, is prominent. ' Glen Eden Toblemaid, one of' his three-year-old heifers, has 305,281 b of fat to her credit for a milking period of 365 days, and Glen Eden Queeme, a two-year-has produced 308,451 b for a similar period. Queenie’s milk yield for the season amounted to 7501.91 b, compared with the three-year-old’s 7282.91 b. Mr H. W. Birch, of Roxburgh, has a senior twoyear Friesian heifer. Rosevale Colantha Korndyke, whose yield of fat for 347 days was 342.391 b, bet milk return for the season being 9900.41 b. The Best Return. The best return included in the November list is that of a three-year-old heifer belonging to- Mr W. J. Murray (Otakiri), which produced 779.051 b of butter-fat for a milking period of 365 days. Her milk return amounted to 10,996.21 b. Another -three-year-old from the same herd has 657.731 b of fat to her credit, her milk total being 11,130.Tib. A four-year-old from Mr Murray’s herd reached 693.201 b of fat for a milking period of 365 days. The two-year-old section is headed by Dr Truby King, of Stratford, whose heifer, Clara, produced 616.541 b of butter-fat in 365 days. Her milk yield for the season was 10,630.61 b. PROBLEM OF WOOL. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. EMPIRE CO-OPERATION NEEDED. Of outstanding interest at the present time, when the state of the wool market is being viewed with anxiety by sheep farmers and the trade, is “ Wool—A Study of the Fibre,” by Dr S. G. Barker, of the British Research Association, for the woollen and worsted industries. The monograph, which is published by H.M. Stationery Office, under the auspices of the' Empire Marketing Board, is a summary of the existing state of scientific knowledge of the wool fibre, and is intended to prepare the way for future developments in research,. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF WOOL. There is. Dr Barker considers, an urgent need for a closer study of wool as a raw material, in view of its great economic importance to the Empire, which, as Dr T. Drummond Shiels, chairman of the Research Grants Committee of the Empire Marketing Board, points out, is strikingly shown in the trade returns of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, ad bouth Africa, In 1928 wool accounted for 19 per cent, of the United Kingdom’s imports of raw material, 48 per cent, of Australia’s exports, 30 per cent, of New Zealand’s, and 56 per cent, of South Africa’s exports of_ merchandise (excluding gold and precious stones). Nearly . one-half of the United Kingdom’s own production, amounting to about 100,000,0001 b annually, is exported. The Empire as a whole exports two-thirds (1,400,000,0001 b) and Australia alone more than one-third (750,000,0001 b) of the total quantity of wool entering world trade (2.1o0,000,0001b). During the Imperial Agricultural ivcsearch Conference in 1927 the Empire Marketing Board invited representatives of the wool-growing dominions to discuss the part that scientific research could play in raising the standard of wool production and enhancing the value of wool relation to other fibres. The last few decades have witnessed the rapid growth of a new textile industry using artificial fibres produced under scientific control as a direct result of laboratory research. Wool has for so long held an unrivalled position as a textile material that until recent rears comparatively little attention has been

devoted to a scientific study of its q lali- J ties. The physical aud chemical Chi rac- 1 tcristics of wool as a natural product and 1 the conditions that determine the sp -cial | qualities prized by the manufacturer mve < remained for the most part a erased ] book. i The practical skill of the wool b iyer - can, of course, appraise these quaßties i with sufficient accuracy. For practical \ purposes microscopic measurement cannot ; take tho place of a well-trained sonsy of j touch, any more than chemical analysis can rival the senses of smell and tasti) in ■ appraising perfumes and flavours, feut when an attempt is made to find means ■ of deliberately increasing the supplf of wools most favoured by the manufacturer, scientific research ■ has to be invokes to determine the physiological condition of : production and to interpret the require- ' incuts of the technician into ohjejives that can be realised by the breecteifnnd ' pastoralist. # SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. * i Wool research thus provides unrivalled scope for concerted action between dif- 1 ferent parts of tho Empire. The aotivtiea of workers in diverse fields, if inspired by a common goal and co-ordinated by personal contact, and the freest interchange of projects and results, may well lead to advances in knowledge and technique that may prove of the utmost practical value to all engaged in the industry. The manufacturer' looks for improvements in the raw material and in the processes of manufacture, while .he breeder and sheep farmer seek guidance ns to_ the methods of producing those qualities _in the fleece which will most enhance its market value. In both fields co-operative research in the Empire bolds out promise of achievement. Dr _ Shields says the British Research Association for the Woollen and Worsted Industries, under the direction of Dr S. G. Barker, has already found it necessary to study the nature of - wool in its physical, chemical, and biological aspects. Its work on the raw material brings it into close relation with those problems, breeding, nutrition, and animal husbandry, in which tfie dominions have a special in--1 teresfc. It has accordingly been recognised 'by the Empire Marketing Board as one of the. chief centres for woo] research in the Empire, and Iras been encouraged with the aid of grants from the board to fill an important role in this field. Next year it is hoped to invite the leading wool research workers in the dominions to a conference in this country. . THE ÜBIQUITOUS SHEEP. On the importance of wool to New Zealand there is no need - to dwell. Nearly one-third—to be concrete, 30 per cent. — of New Zealand’s exports of raw material in 1928 were accounted for by this commodity. The Empire as a whole exports two-thirds (1,400,0001 b) of the total quan tity of wool entering world trade; and in New Zealand alone there are 27,000,000 sheep.' Yet, in spite of the enormous and universal importance of the industry, and in spite of the fact that wool is one of the oldest known materials in the world (the first references to it occur in Babylonian carvings of around the year 4000 b.c.) we arc faced, says Dr Barber, with this fact: that, from an exact scientific point of view, we don’t know what wool is made of. “What is wool? ” is the question which Dr Barker asks at the beginning of tho monograph. He gives a masterly summary of the technical facts as they are known to-day, and summarises the existing knowledge from the biological, the chemical, and the physical angles. The conclusion lie readies is that there is stiff a great deal to he learnt as to why wool behaves as it does —why, for instance,' it grows in the “crimp,” or in curls—whafeauses it to do so, or inn-hat way, if any, the various peculiarities of wool can be controlffed. “ SULPHUROUS ” SHEEP, This is, in fact, tho crus of the matter. Between tho producer of wool and the manufacturer there is a yawning gap, and it is the object of scientific research to build a bridge over this chjsm. The manufacturer, bn the one hand, knows that he wants wool possessng certain spinning and felting qualities, certain propertie? which affect the dyeing and processing, and a certain regain and elasticity. The sheep-raiser, even if he knows (which he frequently does not) the qualities required by the manufacturer, has no idea at all if these qualities can be encouroged by breeding, nutrition, selection, and pasturage, and if so by what methods To take One instance only: it is known that wool contains comparatively large amounts < of sulphur, and it is believed that it is the presence of sulphur that confers on the fibre much of its valuable characteristic of elasticity., An analogy is to be found in the vulcanisation of rubber, which consists in the incorporation of sulphur, and which has resulted in greatly increased durability and _ elasticity. On the other hand, nothing is known as to if and how sulphur content can be controlled by the breeder and sheep-raiser. It is possible that one day the raising of highly sulphurous flocks may become the ambition of every progressive sheep farmer. In the meantime, tire question “ how far is high sulphur content desirable, and can it be brought within the breeder’s control?” awaits an answer. NEW USES FOR WOOL. A second and scarcely less important' way in which scientific research may, perhaps, revolutionise the industry is by finding new ways in which wool can be used. Wool, Dr Barker says, has never been fully exploited. There are possibilities in the, use of wool which have not yet been explored because of ignorance concerning the potentialities of the fibre. New methods of processing may result in the evolution of new fabrics. Much comment was recently aroused by the discovery of a process by which bathes. suits can be manufactured from wood. js altogether a new use for wood, ?i J h ? rc is , no reason why the looms of the future should not weavs wool into strange fabrics which have not yet been devised. In this direction science must blaze the path; and at a time when competition from artificial fibres is invoking “J®. overproduction to scare one of the Empire s most vital industries, the importance of this possibility needs uo emphasis. •P r ® ar her , s monograph contains nn ' interesting history of the origin of wool. The progenitor of the sheep, the moufflon, possessed two coats; a coarse outer’ covering intended for protection, and a fane warm inner coat to ward off the cold. Our ancestors, who clothed themselves in sheepskins selected their suits ■i- 1 i wo . objects in mind—namely, to Pick the larger skins in order to reduce tailoring activities to a minimum, and . to pick the wannest ones. For these reasons they encouraged the larger moufi Hons and also developed the animal’s inner woolly coat at the expense of the - ° ute , r ‘> al .ry covering. Traces of the moufi «?. s *V? lrs .^l 11 remain in the form of s Kemp, which is particularly trouble--3 tu^ 6 ki 1 * I *, c crl a 1 n «« mi nta i n breeds, and in 1 l atn bs. Sudanese sheep - ~u st the reverse process; the hot tiVl natc ,i ln i "’.b'ob they live has caused the gradual disappearance of the woolly 1 coat, and now only the outer hairv cM-cr- . mg remains. r ( BETTER WOOL STANDARDS f .“Wool next the skin ”is an old maxim Like many others, it has a scientific ' ent.niT' Yl 001 1S ” ot only very absorbs cut, but has the peculiar quality of gener- ? Ivhcl ? Wettecl ' readily ■ “ s % mois . turc of the skin, and at a t-frm ® i tlmC + Klvcs out heat and causes a warm glow to spread over the body so minimising the risk of chills. This pecu afe 1 h y eaf ,S Vir eS bales of WQoI to generr ate heat if they are exposed to excess • i las been known to ro- ’ f alt , ln tb® bales bursting into flames, or 1 ! the'wool becom,nft n,ined by charring of

Jhe mam object for which Dr Barker and his team arc working is to establish a set of sound aud reliable standards for raw wool. Nowadays thorough standardisation is the watchword of industry and the wool industry should be no exception. A scientifically comprehensive scheme is. however, hard to determine until more is known about the various propertms of the fibre, and for this reason Ur Barker urges the need for more research.