PATEA LUNCHEON CLUB

Patea Mail, Volume LIII, 19 December 1932, Page 2

PATEA LUNCHEON CLUB

ADDRESS BY MR. A. B. CHRISTENSEN. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON WOOL The following wore Mr. A. B. Christensen’s concluding remarks- in his address on “Wool" at the recent meeting of the Patea Luncheon Club: — I need hardly remind yon that the matter of determining average quality and yield is not so simple as may appear, and it not only requires the highest trained faculties in these particulars, but what may be termed a ‘wool sense’ in order to exercise that fine discrimination so essential in the operations of a reliable and successful buyer. In colonial auctions all wool bought must be paid for within 14 days, and it speaks well for the integrity of the buyers, as well as the marvellous organisation for finance and credit that this condition is never violated. It is a cash business. There are no bad debts; between buyers and brokers from one year’s end to another. Now, with regard to subsequent processes, let me remind you that there are very many mills who do not buy any greasy wool at all. 'The principal buyers arc what arc known as top-makers, who may also bo millers, but whose principal business is to buy raw stock and convert same into standard or special tops which arc sold to the spinners. By this means the spinners buy only exactly what they require, both in quantity and quality, and thus eliminate the necessity of locking up an .immense amount of capital in stock, besides saving in other directions. The top-maker sorts his wool into standard grades, known more familiarly us Bradford counts. These grades art made up of wools from’ all over the world, the proportions in the blends being determined by experience and the requirements of clients, who often specify particular proportions, or require a grade slightly coarser or finer than the standard type. These ‘counts’ arc expressed in figures such as (50’s, 56’s. 50’s, etc., the higher the denomination, the finer the grade of top, and are arrived at as follows: The figure given signifies the number of hanks each containing 560yds of thread, that can be spun from a pound of wool. Thus it will be seen that common Merino wib spin 60 hanks, while ordinary Lincoln will only give 36 hanks, because of the coarser and therefore lesser number of fibres to the pound. 1 will not deal with the further processes involved in the conversion of wool into cloth, a? they arc not only too numerous, but oi too technical a character to be dealt with just now. I will merely deni briefly with the treatment of wools containing refractory vegetable matter, of which there is a good deal in the world’s supply, but which in the case of the New Zealand product is prin cipally biddi-biddi. Seedy wool is first scoured, after which it is put through a bath containing dilute sulphuric acid, which takes effect on the vegetable tis sue. It; is then dried in considerable heat, which has a carbonising or dim ring effect, and renders the matter very friable, so that when put through a crushing and beating process known as willeying, the vegetable matter is removed in the form of dust. The wool is scoured again to neutralise the acid, and is then fit for use. It will be recognised of course, that the harsh treatment in cleansing renders such wools tender and generally inferior to ordinary stock. Most of this work is done on the Continent, where they have made a speciality of this treatment and installed considerable expensive plant. Commenting on the wool situation generally, it must be recognised that in the textile world to-duy wool occupies a somewhat different status to what it formerly held. In recent years i the artificial product has become if not a rival, at least a strong competitor, owing to the fact that improved processes have resulted in the manufacture of a very superior article. Its former inferiority restricted its use to some extent, but now it has an immense market, and it may surprise you to know that the output of artificial fibre, made chiefly from wood pulp, is 450,000,0001 b, equal to half the Australian (dip, the biggest in the world. The cotton trade has also developed the production of “near wool’’ fabrics, so be tween the two it will be seen that the future of wool has completely altered, inasmuch as we may definitely say that those factors must inevitably determine and to some extent restrict the value of wool to somewhere near that at which the artificial product can be marketed. It is significant that during the past two years of low wool prices the production of the artificial fibre has increased barely 5 per cent, each year, as against an average increase of 25 per cent, per annum previously. In the last 10 years rayon production has increased 600 per cent. The total output, as mentioned before, is about 450,000,0001 b, of which the U.S. A. manufactures and uses nearly one-third. The wool trade has met the jmsition to some extent by actually incorporating the use of the artificial product and cotton in the process of manufacturing various fabrics, thus combining beauty and variety with utility. For notwithstanding the perfection of the article ,in many respects, rayon cannot compete in any way with wool for warmth and absorption properties, and wool in many other respects also is unrivalled by any other textile material as a natural and healthful protection for (he body. The whole resources of the trade are to-day being concentrated on (he exploitation of every avenue by which the use of the natural product may be extended and increased, and while 1 believe the artificial product will definitely exercise a restraint on prices# an limprovcinent in general trading conditions throughout the vviiiid should result in wool values advancing to much higher levels than at l>resut prevailing which for cross-,,

breds arc the lowest in living memory. Statistically there is nothing wronj "with the wool position. It is interesting to note that the British Empirt produces half the world's wool, Australia alone being responsible for one third. Also that more than half the world’s wool clip is consumed in countries other than those in which it b produced, caused by the shifting of the world’s centre of gravity of wool production from the northern to the southern hemisphere. Though the increase in production is 20 per cent, above 1921 figures, the rate of increase during the past four years has been negligible, and if low prices continue there will possibly be a recession. At the same time the world’s populatioi has only increased at the rate of about II per cent, per annum, and while this may seem disproportionate with .the increase in production, it must be remembered that it doesn’t really indicate the increase in the wool-using population. As a matter of fact, it would appear from the statistics that if all who could and would use wool and could afford to pay a reasonable price wore duly provided with it, there would be a shortage. Unfortunately to-day some of our biggest and bes’ customers are poor, and the economic strain of the past two years has revealed many weaknesses which will have to be rectified before wc can expect the resumption of healthy trading conditions ami allow the factors in the law of supply and demand to operate normally and stabilise the position of the primary product.

At the conclusion of the address Mr. Christensen replied to several questions. . A very hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Christensen for his interesting remarks, and the meeting then closed.