THE WOOL INDUSTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3396, 16 April 1919, Page 10

THE WOOL INDUSTRY.

The value of having more than just a superficial knowledge of wool is -worth consideration. AU<- sheep-breeders should know something about wool characteristics, and what constitutes its worth and makes it acceptable to manufacturers, —the ultimate buyers. That knowledge is more needful to-day than possibly in pre-war times. So much of the _ wool grown in the Commonwealth and in New Zealand was (says "H.R," in the Weekly Times), shipped to the London market for sale, and owners had no opportunity of knowing anything about the various purposes for which it was used, or any of the _ processes it went through before being shipped back to the country of origin as a manufactured article. The establishment of our woollen mills here has led to a certain proportion of our wool being utilised in the manufacture of tweeds, blankets, etc. It may happen indeed that far the greater proportion of our wools will be worked up in the country of origin. Why send the raw material thousands of miles away when by a wise movement of the peoples of the Empire—an immigration movement —the wool product could be handled on the spot? Look at the amount of work it would provide I "Before wool can be manufactured,, says 'Dalgety's Review,' it must first bo scoured, or

otherwise freed of impurities, such as grease, dust, burr, seed, and so forth. Having regard to its quality, wool is valued on the clean scoured basis. That is to say, the wool buyer estimates the quantity'" of actual wool that will be obtained after it has been scoured. This applies to all classes of wool, and the various qualities of each particular class. When the wool is scoured it is ready for the first stage of manufacture. Some woollen mills may purchase greasy wool, scour it, comb, spin, and weave it into a yariety of textiles, such as cloth and woollen "materials for outer and under garments; they may also purchase other wool, greasy or scoured, that x is not combed into wool tops or spun into yarn, but manufactured without undergoing those processes into rugs and blankets. Wools used for carpets are also in the same category. We here are concerned, however, with the leading branches of the woollen textiles; as the vast bulk of merino and fine crossbred wool is combed into wool tops, which is the first stage of manufacture. The wool so combed becomes the commercial standard and unit .of the wool trade. A wool combing mill is a factory installed with a of machines for converting scoured wool into wool tops. In the process of combing the wool there is" a percentage of waste, short portions of wool fibre, also portions of grass seed, and other matter not eliminated in the wool scour. This residue is called noils. Thug the main product mill is the combed wool, called 'tops,' and a by-product (really the refuse) called 'noils.' The wool tops are of various qualities, also called 'counts,' and known as seventies, sixty-fours, super sixties, common sixties —all merino—or fifties, forty-sixes, forties, crossbred." Naturally the first step then in the combing mill is to have ready a scoured wool, say one that will comb out a seventies, or sixtyfours quality. Such a quality of wool top would need a fine merino wool; because according to the fineness of the wool, so its greater spinning quality. A pound weight of fine wire will extend to' a much greater length than a pound weight of thick wire. On the same principle one pound weight of merino will comb out to a greater length than one pound of strong merino; or one pound weight of fine crossbred will comb or spin into greater length than one pound of coarse crossbred. When the quality is decided upon and the scoured" wool ready for making a top of seventies, super sixties, or sixties, as the case may be, the quality of wool required is fed into the receiving machine. What may be pointed out here is that while some -woollen mills carry out all the processes of manufacture from raw wool to the finished fabi'ic,, this course is'not pursued in the principle manufacturing centres of the world. As pointed out by "H. R.," from the time the wool is pressed into a bale, until the manufactured article is produced, there are three distinct classes of work to be done —scouring, combing into tops, and weaving into the material. The two can be carried out either conjointly or separately in any part of the country adjacent to the railways, and in the case of. scouring at any place where there is a good supply of fresh" water. It is plainly enough evident that in the handling of our wool in the not distant future, that changes will culminate of some v moment to wool-growers. It is inevitable that more will be made of the possibilities of working up our raw products, if only to carry out our war obligations. To-day, probably, the only primary industry in this Dominion which works up all' its products in the country of origin, is the dairying industry.