PREPARATION OF WOOL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 121, 27 June 1914, Page 2

PREPARATION OF WOOL.

Mr Henshaw Jackson, the' South Australian wool expert, gave au .informative address recently on the production and handling of wool. He laid great emphasis on .the proper classing of wool, and reminded his audience that no de-, cent farmer would think of sending his oats and his wheat mixed together in the same bags. The difference in wools was sometimes as great as between two cereals, and it was essential that they should be placed before buyers according to their proper descriptions, if the full value desired was to be secured. With blackboard and chalk the lecturer showed that the manufacturing business was divided into two distinct trades, worsteds and woollen, and the class of wools required by the one was not usually desired by the other. Some growers were very eager to top the market in price and this in a way was a most laudable ambition; yet he reminded them the sheep which produced the highest price fleece w,as not always the most profitable in the ilock. The gooid quality bulky fleece, though averaged, say, 101b per head, paid better, as a general rule, though less per lb was realised for them than for those which gave a light,, fine, bright wool of considerably less weight. In a nutshell, 101b of wool per sheep at 9d was more profitable than 51b or 61b at 1/- per lb. He went on to suggest better methods of branding the bales than often obtained, the rough and ready methods would not now pass muster, and the wool should not only be put up in the best manner, but the bales should be marked so that they could be identified- quickly and accurately. The initials of the owner, with name of station or farm below, with the class of wool below that and number of the bale last- of all. Bales should be marked with at least some of these items, also in other parts, and this would expedite dealing with thom on the wool floor or in the ship's hold. Various enquiries were made which Mr Jackson dealt with; some were important, such as dealing with wet wool. He stated that any received at the stores wet should not be . shipped until thoroughly dry, and this, of eourse, entailed expense. He was asked what would happen if the wool went aboard oversea ships wet, and tlie reply i was that: it would probably set up spontaneous combustion. It might be that it would never blaze up, but in the course of the: long voyage it would smoulder continuously and become a mass of charred material utterly useless for manufacturing purposes. The moral was that wool must never be packed wet, nor, if possible, ever be allowed to become wetted in course of transit.