WOOL IN 1906.

Otago Witness, Issue 2762, 20 February 1907, Page 7

WOOL IN 1906.

(From Ocr Special Correspondent. ) BRADFORD, December 28, 1906. j A GOOD YEAR FOR GROWERS. Wool, like many another raw textile commodity, has shared full patronage at the hands of the trade, and if growers have not had all their ideals fully realised, yet the man of reason cannot but be satisfied with what has been done during 1906 Taking' the year as a whole, it must be said that we have had a fair average time, and but for the slight set-back from June to the beginning of November, 1906, would have been a real good year. No on« can expect to go through t, whol« 12 months without a little variation in price, and what ease there was can be put down directly to artificial means, -which trer© bound to be defeated. The year under review has not, perhaps, seen as much money made as was the case in 1905, but after all 1906 has proved a good time to those having wool for sale General satisfaction was expressed last clipping time by domestic farmers at the jmces ruling, and those who took the advice of the writer have since had much cause for thankfulness. It should ever be born in muni that aoveicigns do not fiuctufetft Uke

wool, and when high prices are offering it is a mistake to ret them go by. Many who last June held extravagant ideas as to what their clips were worth refused to ! sell, with the consequent result that if they,' 1 have since cleared, or are even holding" to day, their clips are worth slightly less money. At tlie same time English wools have reco\ered a good deal of the lest ground, and the outlook is such that those , who desire to sell can now obtain a very satisfactory price. This has not been a year 1 when buyers have been scarce and sellers 1 plentiful, the reverse generally obtaining. The summer and autumn months proved to be the quietest part of the year. simply because strong " bearing" tactics employed in order to force values to a lower I level. Tho?e nearest to the consuming end ! of the tiadc saw all along the tactics which 1 " bears" were employing, and now that they are vanquished, a better state of affairs prevails. Wool is on a vastly different plane to what it was a few years bark and growers naturally hope that prices are going to continue for some time to conic.