THE PRICE OF WOOL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8699, 19 December 1899, Page 4

THE PRICE OF WOOL.

■ Xra Canterbury Times says t-The Aus- ?. MUKi sales were reported .lasfc week to -' have become somewhat quieter, but this is soaroely surprising after the excitement of ■ the previous week. Amongst the prices then re&Hsed were the record figures of ' 19Jd per lb for New South Wales and 191 d for Tasmanian greasy merino, 29Jd for Queensland scoured merino, 27id for scoured crossbred, and 17} d foe greasy crossbred (or rather come-back), the last two being New. South Waleß produce. Regarding the high prices which have : .-: been obtained this Beason for Queensland - Bcoured wools, it is explained that the - from the northern colony aro often ,=• scoured right out in order to save carriage, I whereas in New- South Wales it is usually only the inferior portions of a clip that are \,.Bent to tho scour. Another advantage possessed by the Queensland wools is their . sreafc freedom, from seed or burr, most of ■O them being quite free of Buch defects, as r H well as absolutely clean and ready for the "manufacturer, ' High as these prices were, i they 1 we surpassed at Geelong, where ; some of the famous clips of the western : district of Victoria were sold. The Black- '■''' wood-, wool, described by an expert "■ as . " the best wool grown id Australia, ■-" ' if not in the world," realised the highest ; price for fleece, 19|d per lb, and the average for 268 bales was a shade under 18d per lb. Caramut, another fine clip, Bold np to 18gd per lb. Larra, a famous old stud flock, founded by the late Mr J. L. Currie, went up to 17|d, while the , wool from the Jellallabad flock, famous for '< ' tb6-IBSt thirty years for the bigh quality 'Z of its wool,, sold- up t0,17d per lb. The .■-'-' prices fhave, however, a low? way to rise ."''" before they realise the 5s OJd per lb ■ obtained for a bale of Sir Samuel Wilson s I'Ercildottae dip at the London wool sales in. 1877, even allowing for this being hot- . * water-washed (on the sheep's back), anc about the same period 2s ljd was obtained ■'■ .for- greasy lambs and Is lid for greasy rt- fleece of tho Jellallabad clip (if the writer's • ' memory, serves him aright). "■""■ "Such prices cannot be expected for any 1; I. New., Zealand wool. This colony has U. .neither the sheep nor the climate to ; j'r'grOW'.wool.to such perfection. Good i%'pricesi' .however; 1 can. be depended upon j&i-fte all wools' whicb are fairly, prepared for : « ;;^Bsler4tia i muohto be regretted that many smalls olipWi'are" very r oarelessly or. badly ;s^^ted;-ip>thatstlie- men who buy them !#.fiprefare^forr the' worst by placing a low -i"£ valuation against them, while the prinoipal : fi i buyers will not have them at any price. i ; , -It may bo,, hoped that Thursday's sales in ' * Cbristohuroh will supply fresh records for -.."•New Zealand. .