The Station.

Otago Witness, Issue 1320, 17 March 1877, Page 18

The Station .

WOOL.

E. Grisar and Co., in their wool report for 1876, give the " sheep men " of California several useful hints. One of these is that it pays better to send wool to market in good condition than to send it dirty ; the other is that the tags and locks cannot be hidden away in the fleeces, as many wool producers imagine, by the dishonest way they make up their wool. "When the value and importance of the wool interest of the State are considered, second only to that of grain, one is amazed at the want* of care shown in the selection of sheep and preparation of \7ool. The import duty of ten per cent, on wool certainly ". protects", the sheepowner from foreign competition, except in long, fine .combing staples, which are not grown to any great' extent in this country, but it does something, besides shutting competition and'unduly inflating prices ;' it is a premium upon slovenly management. Does any one' suppose for a moment that were the wool-producers of California liable to competition with foreign clip in their domestic market, orin the East, they would go on year after year rendering themselves liable to the just censure of Grisar and Co. and other "wool merchants 1 On the contrary, they would take care to present their wool in merchantable condition, free from burrs and" sand. E. Grisar and Co. say in their last annual report : " The conditions of both clips has not fulfilled the expectations arising from the abundance of feed. Most of the clips of a year's growth were heavily loaded with tags, arising from the- rank growth of the grasses. As prices were low, growers were also less earful in forwarding their wool in merchantable ' condition, frequently wrapping tags and locks inside the fleeces. In the. fall most of the southern wools contained more earth and sand than usual. The' southern wools were' 'in good condition, but very burry and seedy.!' And then, } by way of foil, it is added: " Oregon wools have been in remarkable good. condition, but v have contained a. lesser, amount of combing and delaine.! 5 The!* -report from -which we -i quote r proceeds:,' 1 "Finei wools have cu been inmost I T , this>' year. We see no reason, however, to think-that Calif6fnla n caii< jctfmpete with Australia' or South' 7 America 'lJJ/ ralsing'fine" wools. ' " m W itietiffixF gc&dd-ii&rhfi^tS b^st," espec^^w^ereysemiVan?iual sh f earing is, Bo;g§ii|r^; jiherekujt '^.longer staple '"aijj4 . Hghte^Biruikage,;ai^d;on an even market. therp.woui.il ljejtess difference,in value fall anci spring clips of medium grade" than where- effort has -been made to raise excluj&vklyi fine wools." .i Now, we do -not carefato set up ' in? judgmentagainst* the" •experience' i bf - Grisar ;& Co. 1 , but leaving bul'of sightf "the class' • of wool iir'locar 'flemandj'^e' see no" reason why' California' 'iitould '.not produce' afc, 'fine,' a' lon^ai^plea''wooVas Australia, if eqiia.l care "4nd',sk^. were employed. The soil and climate are in favour of this country in. several particulars, but advantage has not been taken of these- as -might have been done. California wool of fine grades is in demand in the East ; why not devote such attention to its growth and improvement as should make it sought after 1 by European buyers, instead of leaVing the monopoly of the European market to the British colonies and South America? In one of the principal, London wool circulars, December 14, 1876, we find this statement : " The . prevailing . tendency of fashion being in the direction of increased consumption of woollen materials, a favourable reaction in the case of all woolssuitable for the purpose has followed. While the return to* activity in business throughout the • United States is not yet assured, the symptoms of an extensive demand for European woollen manufactures''can now be traced." With these general prospscts before our pastoral men, we think it is sound policy to advise them to aim at perfection,. as far as -possible, in the production of a fine, long wool staple. It brings a higher average price than medium or short staple. . Moreover, there is -every prospect of a higher range of prices for American wools during the current year. — San Francesco Post.