VEGETABLE MATTER IN WOOL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 11

VEGETABLE MATTER IN WOOL.

The secretary of the Dunedin Chamber of Comineroe"(Mr P. Barr) has received the following circular from the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, signed by the chairman of the wcol trade section, chairman of the spinners' section, and the secretary: —

This matter, has recently been considered at several meetings of the Spinners', Manufacturers', and Wool Trade Sections of this chamber.

Spinners ancl manufacturers complain that increasing quantities of vegetable matter, such as fragments of hemp, jute, string, straw, dried grass, etc., are found in colonial and foreign wools. This appears to be due in some cases to the sheep being shorn and the fleeces wound in places where fragments of grass, straw, etc., are littered about, and in others, and more largely, to the string and the* hemp or jute material used in packing the wool for shipment, this material moreover being said to be, inferior to that used some years ago, inasmuch ,as it appears to be more loosely spun and woven, and is consequently more easily frayed. During handling — in shipping, unshipping, warehousing, etc. — 'the bales become more or less damaged, and fragments of the bagging and sewing twine get intimately mixed with the wool. Owing to the colour fieing practically the same, these fragments are very difficult to detect. Should they not be detected and removed when the wool is " sorted," they not only become as -white as the wool itself during the subsequent stages of scouring and combing, but are also reduced to small particles and distributed more thoroughly among the wcol. It is practically impossible to detect their presence in the top or yarn. They consequently become incorporated in the woven, piece, ana are not visible until the piece is dyed and finished. Vegetable fibres absolutely refuse to take the dyes xised for wool; consequently when the pieces are dyed and finished these j>articles of vegetable matter appear in black goods as tiny white streaks, and in goods of other shades they are also easily perceived. The value of the finished article is thus seriously depreciated. Some of the principal remedies suggested are— (lj That care should be taken to see

that no glass, straw, etc., is wound with the fleeces; (2) that as far ?.s practicable the bales should be cut open at the seams ; where that is not done caie being taken to so cut the bagging as to damage it as little as possible in order to minimise the fraying of the loose ends ; (3) that the bagging should be paper-lined— i.e., that it should consist of a double texture, bagging on one side and paper on the other — so as to prevent detached fragments of the bagging from getting into the wool ; and (4) that the string used for sewing up the bales should be dyed black, so that if any fragments get into the wool they may ba more readily detected and removed duang ' sorting." We are desired to impress upon you the importance of these matters, and to request that you will -bring them— before persons interested in the question, with a view to the remedying of the evils complained of, which wiirbe to the advantage of all parties concerned.—We are, dear sirs, yours faithfully, John E. Fawcett, Chairman, Wool Trade Section. J. H. Robinson, Chairman, Spinners' Section. Fredk. Hooper, Secretary.

" You'll never make the Maoris -work in this world," remarked a member of the Masterton Chamber of Commerce at a recent meeting. " They're not fools enough for that." "Well, doesn't New Zealand belong to them? " said another member. " We're only interlopers, anyway," concluded the member. — Age.