EMPIRE SURVEY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16874, 11 February 1929, Page 2

EMPIRE SURVEY

N.Z'S. WOOL PRODUCTION

DR. J. E. NICHOLLS' TOUR

Making a tour of the British Dominions, with the object of carrying out comparative lesearcii into .wool production in the various countries, Dr. J. E. Nicholls, of the British Research Association fdr the Woollen and Worsted. Industries, and the Empire Marketing Board, arrived in Christchurch from Wellington to continue his investigations, which will extend oter a period of two months, into the conditions obtaining in New Zealand. In making this Empire wool survey, Dr. Nieholis has alreadv spent three months in Australia, and" ho will spend a similar period thero at the conclusion of his stay ml New Zealand. From there he will go to South Africa, and later Canada, returning to England in August, 1930. In the course of an interview in Christchurch, Dr. Nicholls said that he was making a comprehensive study of the conditions of wool production according to the different types of wool in the vaVious localities, together with the different methods of management, transport, marketing methods, and the hun-derd-and-one phases of production. "Of course," said Dr. Nicholls, "the most profitable sheep should always be. grown, and one of the objects of the survey is to assist the wool producer:;' of the Empire from that point of view. The producer is dependent upon thd manufacturer and the manufacturer upon the producer, and the work of my association is to assist the industry by solving its problems at any stage of the wool production and manufacture." Dr. Nicholls was asked as to New Zealand's position in the wool-producing countries of the world. Ho said that of Iho total amount of wool produced in New "Zealand, Bradford handled' about 80 per cent., and apparently therei had heen no falling off recently. "Statements have been made by ono or two individual Bradford manufacturers," said Dr. Nicholls, "that New Zealand wool, has fallen off in quality, but J. can say nothing about that until I have thoroughly inspected the conditions under which it is produced. It is to investigate such things that iho survey is being carried out." Dr. Nicholls said that naturally altogether divergent problems were facing the different Dominions, and while Australia, for instance, was concerned almost solely with the merino, New Zealand's problems were the mutton and fleece-producing shcep.—Christcliurch Tress.