OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2504, 19 March 1902, Page 9

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(From Oub Special CoRBEsroNL-K.fr.) BRADFORD, January 17. A PRACTICAL TALK ON WOOL.

The a c last few years have been so pregnant ■with disaster to both Home and colonial sheep-men that oftentimes many of our acquaintances have been tempted to throw up the sponge in disgust, but we say that whatever losses sheepmen have had to encounter in the shape of droughts and falling value 3, heavy losses, too," have had to be encountered by woolmen, so in these respects both growers and buyers have had man 7 things in common. At the same tim-e, with the beginning of a new year it will never do to sit down and encourage a fit of doldrums, and especially so when things appear so much better and the wool outlook has vastly improved. Long before the, manufacturers of Yorkshire knew anything at all about Australian merino wools, they had become expert in handling those grown in the British Isles, and it was only when the Rev. Samuel Marsden brought home with him a" few stones of merino wool that Yorkshire manufacturers were enlightened as to the possibilities that were wrapped up in the woo! and textile industries of this district in conjunction with the vast product of the Commonwealth. British-grown wools served as good a purpose then as they do to-day, but the importation of vast quantities cf merino form Australia ha 3 turned inside out the wool trade of the entire world.

The unsuitability of the Lincoln and Leicester wools for fine " all-wool "' broadcloth seems to have been a matter of conjecture till modern science and research were brought to bear upon them in conjunction with other fibres. It has been stated that up to the year 1835 it was not known whywool would felt and hair would not. At any rate, about that time a Mr Ewart, of London, together with a Mr Plint, of Leeds, made some experiments and observations with a view to determining the question. They concluded that the felting property of wool did not depend alone on the " number of serrations on its surface." but also upon tho " softness, slendcrness, and curliness of the wool."

The writer's experience, extending for a lifetime, and embracing many varieties, most certainly confirms these conclusions, and he has always found the finest qualities to felt the best* Now it so happens that Lincoln j>nd Leicester wools arc wanting in every one of these qualifications, and the microscope shows that they are wanting in serrailons, compared with merinos, and present a fibre somewhat bare and straight, after the manner of silk. This resemblance is no doubt the source of their lustre, and the same remark applies to other worsted wools with lustre. The absence of serrations explains their want of felting property and their suitability for hosiery, which is an essential object oi under-garments and footwear.

The felting property of wool has much influence on its usefulness, and determines to a large extent what purposes anil goods it will suit. Hard and firm woollen cloths require freely felting wools, while soft textiles require those which felt slowly. For instance, a wool flannel made of quick-felt-ing wool would shrink too rapidly in the finishing process, and, as a garment, would shrink to half its original size under repeated washings. Yet a quiclo-felting wool would suit a beaver, melton, or box cloth cr fabrics mostly worn by farmers to peifection, provided they were of suitable quality. As the combing process abstracts the shortest fibres from merino wools, it at the FSme time deprives the worsted yarn of its tendency to felt in a great degree, and the Fhort fibres thus abstracted become a felting agency for hats and woollen cloths. This is one of the conclusive proofs that the felting property lies in the short fibres, and not so much in the long ones. a 6 seen iv. the staples of the Lincoln and similar wools. It also confirms the investigations of Messrs Ewart and Plint, made under totally different conditions in 1835.

Although conditions to-day are so vastly changed to *-hat they were a good few yoars back, still tho work and mission of colonial wool-growers are as clearly defined as ever — namely, to produce a good •wool and plenty of it. We are prlad to think that both Australian and New Zealand pastoralists are to-day fully alive to their own best interests in this respect, and although South America has made great stride during the past 10 years in the art ami science of sheep-breeding and wool-growing, yet Australasia has nothing to feai about the Argentine wresting from her hands that supremacy which her paaloraluts ha\e hitherto enjoyed. South American wools have certainly vastly improved both in merinos and crossbreds, and especially in the latter descriptions, but for tho best qualities even in crossbreds Australia and New Zealand still occupy first place, and always will. There seems to be something about the climate of the Argentine that makes the wool handle harsh and brittle, and the complaint is long existent and as pronounced as ever that woollen fabrics •made from South American wools do not feel as soft and supple as when made from 'Australasian-grown wools. At the same time colonial pastoralists must not vest satisfied with what they have done, for to do that is simply to die, but the standard of excellence now reached must be fully maintained.

Practical experience has now proved over land, over, again that if manufacturers want 4o produce a perfect fabric, Australian wools roust be drawn upon. In this we see a never-failing market for wools from that part of tho world, only supplies coming from other quarters will always influence the ruling price per Ib. At the same time let every reader see that, whatever £tyje

of wool he is growing, be it merino or crossbred, the quality and character are of the, best Breed at random, and you will . repeat at -leisure.

WOOL. PRICES WILL BE HIGHER

The Bradford market to-day stands intact where it -stood a week ago, and all round the market the higher prices made and increased turnover are being consolidated with a spirit of firmness the like of which we have not seen for a long while back. All eyes are now turned towards London, and anticipations are running fairly high for the opening next Tuesday. That there will be a rise botli in merinos and crossbreds goes without saying, the difficulty being to say exactly how much that advance will be. We fail to see how anything less will be accepted- than a full 5 to 7£ per cent, rise above the closing rates of last series, while there is a possibility of that advance reaching 10 per cent, if the Continental section shows any k?euncss at all for fine wools. There is no doubt that topmakers here are badly in want of merinos, and stocks are short all round. It will be remembered that Bradford for the past two sales has bought far less of fine wools than it usually dof>«. ton make, ro being frightened of paying the prices then ruling, failing to see at the time any chance whatever of being able to get back their own. The conservative policy then pursued has robbed many a house from now making a profit, and it is feaied that the impending rise will again carry prices above tLose ruling here to-day. vi there is no other alternative left than for buyers to secure wool at one price or another, for consumption is proceeding apace; many ha\e made contracts for forward delivery, and all round the market there is a good inquiry for wool. It does, indeed, speak volumes for the consuming capacity of the Home trade when its takings for last year fame made a big "record," and still to find itself hungry for wool at the beginning of the year. Some " direct" imports have arrived, and are spoken of as being '" all right " in view of the advance recently established. Even crossbreds are certain to be dearer next week, though here there is more uncertainty as to how far the rise will go. The fact is there is a c;ood feeling, and though new business is less scarce than it was, still many have nothing to sell.