OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 7

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(Fboh Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, January 7. ' WOOL FIRMER. The market has not yet developed into anything like a state of activity, though a decided feeliDg ci cheerfulness and confidence predominates on all sides. Ou market; days the 'Change floor haß been unusually full, and a sentiment more akin to business has been abroad. A good deal of inquiry has come from spinnera end dealers, and anyone willing to accept current ia*.es before the holidays cat-to-day sell readily. Some thiuk that a/1 purchases to keep going what machinery is runnicg have been put eff until the dawn cf the new year, and that ere long liberal buying will be indulged in. Certain it is that at this writing a fair consumptive demand ia going on, and that spinnets through lowness of 6tockd in tops nsu-t be compelled to operate before long. Holders of mtrinos especially ars holding tht few packs they have pretty tight, and prices »re sgaiDst the buyer. In li&u ot specific instances of accepticg bottom prices it is ?sfe to assert that the market is on a very full level with a weekagjas regards prices. As the cfsa'iitioa of the arriving Australian c'ip is more realised, there is a growmg widespread feeling that the depletion c» the. stockc- of Australia «j> this market makes if certain tL a* values in London for good, sound, shafty combing wools will be bo cheeper, but possibly dearer, and for this reason many holders of both wool and tops wii,! not sell under a halfpenny advance. Of course at this writing the Be new quutatiobs have not been- xraliscd, hah it clearly shoys what tho present flelinp of the trade really i-\ 1 ? ..r goo i. ehtfty w.'.rp 6Q's tbe-e is plenty of afekirg <>>i the p.trt of spinners, out they are hard to nail, and even shoit wel'fc 60' a ate not plentiful at - spinners'- ideas, F*.v cr« ssbreds the demand is j only quiet, and if a. .further fall takes place no ■ one will bs surpris-d. In English wool* the j position cf things is unaltered, demand bsing j very quiet excepting for low qu ilities for carpet j yarn purpose?. Our yarn-j-pirmeis still find ] great cause for complaint, and 1 hi s continues j to be a we-ik spot in our trade. Export demand is very languid, acd prospects cf an amend seem as yet very i emote. A little more is ] doing on American account, and this is helping manufacturers i»n<l shippers. ' COJIMON-SENSB REFLECTIONS. The better the condition cf the ewes, as a rule, tho larger i.umber o£ tsins. Pub ihe ewes into a thriving condition by increasing their feed and giving them access to salt and water. This will ensure more uniform breeding of the flock and a more uniform lob of lambs. As the lambing lime approaches feed more liberally, and after the lambs are dropped and the ewe has resumed her natural condition do nob negieel this psrb of the programmes. The feeling against sheep iv some farmers' minds is nothing short cf a " fad " and aa unwarranted prejudice. The A B C t f pre finable wool-growing is first to ascertain what brsed cf sheep do best in your district, and when enc? you have chosen keep to that strir-o, and class again:.! climatic conditions and influ* nee. Fix iv itjbutai stinclard of tho kind of shspp you wish to breed, class up to it, aud uso only cne biecd of ram?. I have observed this, that some sheepfarmers have never feucceeded simply because (hey listened to and acted uj.on all the cheap advice readily given by those who knew rnors of their business than they knew of their own. Brown tells them that his sheep cut half a pound more wool than theirs did, and so they immediately get some of the rams that Brown breeds f torn. Dot/fc do that; cull heavier and you will soon beat him. It is this fickleness that baa turned many a sheepman out of the road to success he was in into a by-path of swamp, to afterwards miserably fail. A strain of blood that produces a profitable sheep in one district where the conditions of food and climate are favourable to it may be quite a failure in another. It requires years of practical experience to gain a full knowledge of the powers of a particular breed cr strain of blood to adapt itself to a given d s'-rict to produce a sheep with a profitable fleece and to carry a good crop ot wool with age. What is to be the future of the wool industry ? is a question that is being pertinently asked and considered by sheepowners through'OQt the wide, wide world. Observation and experience lead one to say that experts who purchase the wool ere apparently as much at sea in this matter as the sheepowners. An Australian flockmaster lately asked a woolbuyer if he would advise him to alter the breeding of his flock so as to grow wool to suit the present taste, and if he would guarantee the fashion to last three years. The reply of the expert was: "I would not guarantee that it will last three months." Notwithstanding the depression in wool, it would not be wise for any eheepfarmer who has a well-bred flock to alter the type of his shepp. " No matter what the breed, it would be almost a sin to destroy the purity of blood by crossing it with other strange breeds. It has taken many years of careful Lrr-"ilinj» to raise both the merino and our Zu^h^.x pi. ire breeds to the highest standard of excellence Ihey bow exhibit, and by hasfciJj .i<3tpuu'* a.. i,x« ti'eroe cross to meet the pu-'ji'o'v !! et ug faßhion of the time irreparable injary may be |one. atoere are ample grazing grounds c.il ever fcae

world that will raise strong, coarse wool, but the pastures are limited that will grow fio perfection the bright, soft, merino wools of Australia. By proper care and strict attention to the" details of sheep-raiair»g Ihe farmer can continue to keep sbeep even under present conditions and prospects. Any raaa who attends strictly to business and is a practical aheepman will firjd as mnch in^ney ia theep r.s in snj otksr live sock, if nob more. It is the wise may. wbo tasi fitid or see torae good from every cvi). Shespmen think they are the most abused class of farmers to-day, yet they have, in a way, greatly benefited as a body. During the past few yeans the flockmaßters have graded up their flocks to a higher standard of excellence than formerly. Much difference is si'ec between the sheep coming to market nmvsriajs and those oi a few y^ar3 ago, although fheepsneu are making reach kss money than they used to.