MARKET QUALITIES OF WOOL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 7

MARKET QUALITIES OF WOOL.

Br Myles Campbell,

When the wool isi in the hands of the buyer he is able to delect in some weak spots every fault there has been in the management of the flock. It is a natural law that the life of an animal and its geneial happiness and comiorts are firt't supported by its food, then the natural product from which profit is made is encouraged. If the animal is barely supported, there will be very little product; but the excess of- thrift and comfort will show in the milk of the cow, the meat of the steer, the work of the" horse, the eggs of the poultry, and in the wool and iambs ot the sheep. And in the ca^e of the sheep, for every neglect there will be a weak spot in the fleece that will cause the wool to break when the buyer takes a few fibres and tests its strength. The result of this weakness is to cause the wool to break in carding and make an excess of waste that reduces the value of the wool. Yet many farmers discovering that some more careful neighbour is getting a few farthings, a pound more for his wool than they have got become dissatisfied, and think they have been cheated. So they have, but the one who has cheated them ds the -one whose carelessness has made them sufferers — in fact, they have cheated themselves.

An investigation into the grades, classes, and qualities of wool demands for full and fair treatment an understanding of the intricate and multiple processes by which the manufacturer fashions so many fabrics, and m addition it requires, an intimate acquaintance with sheep life anct .the .conditions that affect the qualities of woo) before it passes from the flock. These notes are submitted with the hope of helping readers, and not with the wish to attempt a detailed treatment of a subject so wide and intricate that each division of it would require a volume.

It is evident without much consideration that it is the consumption of wool that creates tlie demand for it, and this demand will verge towards the kinds of wool that are being used in the greatest quantities. The difference between the wools desired for woollen goods and for worsted is not so very gr-eat ; and yet because of it and the change in the demand foxclothes there has been -a marked change in the price of .the clothing and combing wools in the market.

In a general sense it may be said that the cloth the people wear determines the demand for the wool that the people produce. For woollen goods ai clothing wool is used mostly — a wool that is not long, but has the peculiarity of felting in a high degree. The fibres of the wool used for this purpose are not laid parallel as they are in the combing process, but are only arranged so in a slight degree, the aim being to give the cloth the soft and fluffy feeling common to flannel. In the making of worsteds the fibres of the wool that is used are laid parallel, hence the desirableness of length and strength of fibre in such wools.

The improvements that have been and are continually being made in machinery used in the manufacture of wool enable the manufacturer to successfully comb a short-stapled wool, so it is high time the old system of classing wools as combing and clothing should be done away with, and letters 01 numbers substituted, as it is impossible for the woolgrower at this end of the earth to keep himself posted up in the change of machinery and fashion going on at the other end. The chief object of the wool-classei on determining on the number of classes is to have wool tru,e to sample in each bale and class, and the buyer and manufacturer are the best judges as to their own requirements. All they wish for is to have the line true to sample. There are, of course, wool classers of greater and less efficiency, but the men who were in the first instance thoroughly trained wool sorters in England or Scotland have, as a rule, made the best wool classers. I have known spine of these men becoming so delicate in the touch of the finger as to be able to distinguish all the various characteristics of wool in the dark, sxceot brightness and lustre. Within the 'kinds of wool there is considerable fluctuation in prices. The clean kinds, bright and light in grease, include all Dur best wool, such as would be grown ,on sheep that xre wisely treated and liberally fed. Bush or log-stained wool is such a kind as anyone would expect to come

from a newly-burned bush land. It i 3 dirty and discoloured with wood ashes, charcoal, rimu leaves, thistles, and other foreign matter.

The presence of kemp or dead hair is very objectionable. These dead hairs are very large and white. They will not absorb dyes/ like the other fibres, and they possess no felting or matting power. Hence, wool that contains them is useless for the best fabrics. We know that all wool-bearing animals have the tendency when their cultivation is neglected to produce hair rather than wool. This tendency also alviays manifests its-elf whenever the condition of soil ami- climate is unfavourable to the fullest development of the mal. Here is a lesion for breeders. We must keep on improving,- or we shall retrograde. INaUue never stands still with domesticated, improved, or crossbred animals.

Under certain conditions tho wool does felt on tho sheep's back, and forms what are known as colts, which are nothing more than a tangled mass of fibres, and are a source of annoyance to the manufacturer and a loss to the farmer, as they deteriorate the value of the wool, and have to be.removed in the process of sorting. The cause oi this cottingvaries as much in. different animals as in dirferent seasons. I have frequently found that there is an absence Of yolk amongst the cotty mass as compared with the free fibres, where the yolk is 3ufiicient, and this tangling may arise from want of lubrication of the fibre 3.

This tendency also varies much in individual sheep, and may arise from individual action, such as rubbing (when infected with tickb and lice), which ea.uses the, fibres to bo thrown across each other in all directions, and thus they become entangled and matted. 'This yolk is to be found in the greatest quantity about the breast and shoulders, the very part that pioduces the best and healthiest and most abundant wool, and in proportion as it extends in any considerable degree to other parts, the wool is considerably imprqved. It differs in quantity m different breeds. It is very abundant in the merinos, which are free from kemps, and the fleece of any sheep in a well-managed flock will open like the leaves of a book. Where there is a"deficiency of yolk the fibre of the wool is dry and harsh and. weak, and the whole fleece becomes thin and hairy, while where the quantity oi the yolk is abundant the wool is soft and oily.and plentiful and strong. __ But the qtjalities enumerated are not the only ones that hear on the market value of wool. Jimong others the condition of the wool-is of the most importance. " Condition" is a term that embraces many qualities, among which the chief may bo s&id to be purity, brightness, lustre and yolk. The" purity of the wool is a point -of high value. It is based on the equality of the fleece", presence or absence of dead hairs, kemps, and other deleterious materials. In regard to brightness the' market classifies wool into tliOoO that are bright and tho^e that are dark. It i*i a hard matter to say just now how much difference exists between these two qualities in money values. Brightness is distinct from lustre, as it relates simply to the colour of the wool, while the lustre refers to the shining appearance^! the fibreo. The brightness is of value because of the fact~ that a bright wool is' most ea&ily dyed. The lustre varies striQtty in different wools. It is, a .point of importance to the manufacturer, for the finish that he can give his goods depends to- a considerable extent on it, and it was a study with the^ manufacturer for some time how to be abkT to cleanse his wool without destroying .its, lustre. The lustre is seen by the appearance of being, varnished that each fibre has. It differs', from - brightness./ A dark .wool may possess~it. .The .yo}k in .the wool "gives us the' market terrrv " light _" ami ' heavy." There' is a vast difference in wools in this particular, and the extent of yolk in the fleece influences value largely. A free secretion of yolk is always found on a healthy sheep, and it is only these that dim grow sound-fibred wool.

(To be continued.)