OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

Otago Witness, Issue 2604, 10 February 1904, Page 8

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER

(From Ottr, Special Correspondent.)

BRADFORD, December 13. SHROPSHIRE .SHEEP AND WOOL. One thousand years ago tho spinning of wool was an art iin which tho women of England were adepts. King Alfred's mother achieved groat suece-,9 in tho art, and hor daughters wea-o accomplished spinsters. In palace, castle, farmhouse, and coltage, wool afforded occupation, for rich and poor. Egwina, the mother of Kinjif Alhelnt.ui, na,j the daughter of a shepherd, by which name country gentlemen who followed the pastoral life wore known. Richard Occur do Lion's laivom was, in tho case of tho poorer monasteries, met by a contribution of one jcai's wool ciop. Tho flocks of England foimerly ropi counted a largo portion of tho wealth of the country. Tho wools of England have always been hold ia groat esteem, both at homo and abroad. Shropshire wool in tho fouitoentli century commanded a price that could not bo approached elsewhere. That Shropshire sheep breeders of our day have successfully endeavoured to uphold the reputation of their flocks as producers of wool is proved by tho fact that the average weight of the fleece is noiy three times greater than it was at the beginning of the present eontury, whoa the average was only 2glb. But whilst due consideration has been given to the wool-bearing capacity of their sheep, the chief attention of Shropshire breeders has, undoubtedly been directed to the production of high-class mutton. In days gone by, when wetheis were kept till they were four or five years old, and were shorn three or four times before bemg fattened, and wheo "the spinning of wool was an industry practised in every household, the fleece was :>f paramount importance ; but in these days of eorly maturity the reverse is the ca°e. It seldom happens nowadays thai, a Shropshire wether i« shorn more than once. Of the wool and mutton produced, cmly 10 per cent, of the , woight is wool. Am incre?sp of 10 per cent. I in the market value of mutton adds from 4-3 to 5s to the value of c?ch sheep, but an increase of 10 per cent, in the value of wool only adds about Bd. The relative returns, therefo"e, trom mutton and wool respectively fully justify the policy that has been followed. As cenomical producers of high-class mutton, Shropshire shep stand, unrivalled. There are breeds— notably the Lincoln — the wool of which is sometimes worth more per lb, bui Lincoln mutton is worth 20 per cent, les than that of the Shropshire. Taking wool and mutton totjcthar into account, the produce of a Shiopshiro sheep i-, not exceeded .n value per lb "by thab of any other breed, and having regard to the modeiate cost of production, this breed xmdeubtodly deserves the popularity it has by its intrinsic merits attained both at home and abroad.

The Shropshire sheep of to-day is undoubtedly ono of the bosfc as a good general

purpose s^eep on most farms, but, of course, ie would never do to put them on land similar to what one meets with in the Highlands of Scotland. Given good pasturage.

and a fair temperate climate, and the S'hrop-

shire will prove equal to giving returns on as good an average as most breeds of sheep, and the last few years they have come to the front a great deal. The wool of the Shropshire i= mo=tl3 - used for hosiery purposes, and certainly it cannot Le beaten for this special purpose. ,Thore is not a very great deal of the same quality produced abroad like there is of tho English halfbred stamp, and thi~ always sees Shropshire wool figuring at least a penny moro per lb. It? usually comparatively short staple when compared with halfbred or longwools, the flexibility of its nature, and its comparative fineness mako it specially ndai^tcd for hosiery purposes, and hero we have th& secret of its popularity at the

hands of manufacturers. The Shrop- • shire-Merino cross makes an excellent j butchers' sheep, the carcase being , short, compact, broad on tho brck and loin,

round en the shoulder, and deep fleshed,

whilst the mutton hi of prime quality and flavour. It is specially adapted for breeding fat lambs coming ecrly to maturity, making fair weights and superior as regards quality and appearance. In the wool this cross

fails liko all Down hreeds, though in a le;s degree than the others.

PRICES SAGGING

The Home- wool market i- completely off colour, and iheie ia nothing doing beyond o few jobbing linefs of a mopt miscellaneous character. The market srcm> to have dropped off into a mObt listless condition, and f.s far as 1^ can ;ee nothing will now be done till the- new year dawn 3 . 1 asked a topmaker yesterday — -a fairly big man in tho wool trade— what a super 60's top w?.i' worth, and he only voiced the feeling* of hundreds more when he said "There i= no price " Ii is very hard work indeed to do business, and I question much if there is a single man who era get hack within a good bit of .what his stock has cost. The chariot wheels of the wool trade drag heavily, and on every hand the bitter i^t complaints are heard as to the unprofitable nature of business. Thero is .such a small trade doing with spinners and manufacturers that nobody seems dis-po-ed to buy anything at all, , but to wait and see what turns up. The tendency of prices is to ear,o all round, and it is possible to-day to place orders for yarns which a month ago would have brought forth some extensive foreign contracts. There is actually talk of 40*5 prepared tops being offered at lid, a price which is Migge&tive of a serious fall and 10-s somewhere. There is little disposition to do busine's unless moii can coma something like near to what stocks have cost, and the only attitude that holders can take up is one of quietly waiting till thy future becomes more clearly defined. There is a good deal of machinery landing idle, both spinning frames and loom*, and tht is ■• fruitful opportunity for "bears" to further depress prices. It may be taken for granted that we are not going to see very much doing this yeai-, and nieci will be foolish if they begin to dump down stocks and force "sales. Thero seems to be nothing for it but quiet markets for some time to come, and the probability is that we hall have to face slack markets and little doing till there is an increased call for yarns and textiles. Mohair is very quiet, but steady, the recent spurt- evidently being but a mere flash in the pan.

I Harvesting is in full sving throughout ' tho Woitaki district, and the crops should , thresh out well, for though shorter in the f straw th«y are well headed