OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3885, 28 August 1928, Page 14

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

AN INCREASING FAULT IN NEW ZEALAND WOOL. (From Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD, June 21. During June and July the annual fairs at which English farmers in the southern counties offer their clips are held, and as these are now proceeding a very considerable amount of interest is being taken 'in them. There is a very striking contrast between the sale of Australian and New Zealand wool in the centres of those countries or in Coleman Street and the wool fairs held during the season in England, Ireland, and Scotland. As readers know, the quantities of colonial wool dealt with are referred to in terms of bales, but in this country it is quite a common thing for it to be announced how many fleeces have been offered at any particular fair. This makes the trade in British wool look rather insignificant, but this is far from being the case. The total annual weight of the clip is equal to about 400,000 bales of colonial size, and the value is about £10,000,000. During recent years the exportation was certainly large in proportion to the production, but for a number of years was considerably below 50 per cent. Indeed from 1908 to 1913 the average annual production was 135,423,0001 b and the average exportation 40,420,0001 b. The interest " point is that whilst our present annual production is much less than in the six years preceding the war, our exports are substantially more. Germany and America are regarded as our principal customers. The manufacturing properties of British wool have come to be well recognised abroad. The principal classes exported are Downs, Irish, Kents, and Norfolk halfbreds. THE MERINO IN ENGLAND.

The figures given above should be quite sufficient to show what an important asset the British clip is to growers, but I may add that this wool is of no little importance to many members of the trade who’are largely interested in Australian and New Zealand classes. It is also worth mentioning once again that Great Britain is the Iwme of the mutton breeds, which have contributed so much to the prosperity of thousands of pastoralists in Australia and New Zealand. It may be recalled that the merino was exported from this country to Australia about the year 1810, and there is still preserved in the South of England a little flock of merino sheep growing 70’s quality wool. This flock of merino sheep is kept more for sentimental reasons than any other, but it originated from one of the best Victorian flocks, and is still preserved in all its purity. The production of merino wool in England on a large scale cannot be advocated. It is not in the nature of things under modern wool manufacturing requirements that this should be thought of, though it is quite probable that in the South of England quite a large number of merino sheep might have been kept if a serious attempt had been made to do so. In making this statement I am, of course, without any relevant authentic information. Perhaps if some of the south country farmers were to come back again they would tell us that they had difficulty in breeding the merino, and were compelled to turn their attention to sheep which had already shown themselves to be more amenable to the peculiarities of soil and climate. The commercial aspect of sheep breeding and wool growing has always to be kept in view, and in this country farmers who have to pay £3 per acre for their land want something more than flocks of sheep of historic interest to cover rent and other charges. GREY HAIRS TN NEW ZEALAND WOOL.

Reference has already been made in general terms to the demand for English wool, and it may be added that this season buyers are paying 5d to 7cl per lb more than a year ago. The advance is around 33 per cent.—very similar to what happened to the New Zealand clip last season, —and among buyers there must be_ tremendous faith in the future for them to be willing to pay so much. No doubt last season’s clip turned out very well indeed, and hopes are entertained that this one will be equally successful. This time the chief danger lies in the fact that a large part of the wool already bought has been taken by actual users, and there will have to be a really splendid demand on home manufacturing account or for export if dealers are to go on paying current prices. No doubt the figures that are being paid testify to the excellence of the wool. The only thing about which anyone can find fault is the grey hairs in Downs. A good deal has been heard recently about attempts to' eliminate this undesirable feature, and I regret to learn that grey hairs are asserting themselves even in New Zealand crossbreds. A Bradford topmaker who buys a large quantity of New Zealand wool has stated that he is finding more and more grey hairs in the wools from New Zealand, and attributes it to the increasing use of Down sires with the object of rearing quick-maturing lambs. It would be very interesting to know the real cause of grey hairs being found in every Down breed in England, except the Dorset Horn. It may be asked whether in years gone by a black ram was introduced. If this was done, even 50 or 60 years ago, it is doubtful if the effect will ever be eradicated. A Scotch shepherd of long experience once stated that a Leicester ram once found its way into his father’s flock, and although the progeny of the cross were mated year after year with a pure Scotch blackfaced ram he could tell after 30 years which were the crossbred sheep. SPANISH MERINOS. Another illustration of Imreditv i<- £-und in tlie fact that durina the davs of Kiiur

George 111 the merino was introduced into many of the Down flocks that existed at that time in the southern counties of England and left its mark upon both r carcass and fleece, the latter in particular/ Perhaps the merino imported from Spain by King George 111 were not pure white, because to-day black Spanish sheep are still being bred. There is no record to prove whether this was so or not, though there has existed among sheep farmers some silly idea that black rams get the best lambs. That is the reason why in the vVensleydale black lambs are so frequent. If one black merino ram was introduced into a noted flock in the South of England over 100 years ago we are not by any means surprised to see the result of that cross even to-day. The great point we want to stress is that it is a pity that black hairs are to be found in either British or colonial wools. All through the past year tops combed out of English Down wool have been anything from 3d to 4d per lb below the same quality of New Zealand, the only explanation being that the English (say 50s to a 8 s) could not be relied upon to be pure white. It is to be sincerely hoped that New Zealand pastoralists will pay every regard to the elimination of black fibres, and will not countenance the use of any sire that shows the slightest trace of them.

A COMMENDABLE EXPERIMENT. ,It is very much to the credit of a New Zealand sheep breeder that he evolved such a useful breed as the Corriedale. though here again sheep of British origin have been improved in fleece and carcass by the New Zealand climate. The Corriedale is an outstanding breed, and its wool is one of the most useful types on the market, as it is supplying the deficiency in the pure halfbreds. It is unnecessary for either the halfbred or Corriedale wool of 56’s quality to be of extra length. Five or six inches—what is known as carding length—is quite all right. Seven or eight inches, such as we have often seen in London, is too long.

Attention may be specially drawn to the fact that Mr F. A. Aykroyd, the wellknown Bradford topmaker and spinner, is taking a great interest in sheep breeding and wool growing. His latest endeavour on these lines is an attempt to eliminate the black hair from Down wool. Reference has been made already to the disadvantage incurred by wool being so affected. On his farm at Birstwith Hall, near Harrogate Mr Aykroyd has crossed pure Dorset Horn ewes with a Wensleydale ram, and so far as can be seen the result is excellent. ~ The second cross lambs, born last November, were sold in February for butchering at £4 each. This is. an excellent price—almost double what North of England farmers sell their halfbred lambs at during July, August, and September. Having seen these lambs and examined the first fleece of the cross, I can only pronounce them as being, excellent. The wool is mostly good 50-56’s quality, and is entirely free of grey hair, and the second cross promises to be of still greater utility. This new strain of sheep, with its somewhat original type of wool, is not likely at this juncture to be of much practical value to New Zealand pastoralists, but Mr Aykroyd’s experiments . deserve recognition as showing what is being done here to produce wool entirely free from grey hair, and a really good carcass.