FINE CROSSBREDS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 565, 1 December 1915, Page 3

FINE CROSSBREDS.

CHARACTERISTICS AND USES.

FUTURE FOR CORRIEDALfiS,

Oxie of the most evident results produced in the wool trade by the present war has been the large demand created for crossbred wools, writes Mr S. B. Hollings, the noted English wool expert, in an excl&nge. This effect has been all £lie more noticeablo because merino wools have for' so long occupied the place of recognised pre-eminence. Making the highest prices, having the most ready ..consumption, and possessing more possibilities in the way of manufacture than crossbreds, merinos have occupied •n position which has been regarded as entirely supreme. But the great war has" changed all this. The foremost demand for military purposes has been for something which would stand hard wear, and the criticism which has been levelled against those who have not ; turned out military fabrics satisfactorily, so far as the character of their material has been concerned, has been that, it was not able to bear the strain placed upon it. Crossbred wools are recognised as being longer and stronger than tvpical merinos; hence their utility as a material from which to produce good wearing cloths. As the present struggle has brought to the front so much, and as it has had no parallel since 1872; it will be interesting to compare the two periods in relation to the subject now in hand. In the year, named there had been ifono of the developments in cross-breeding known to-day, and the imports of wool into Great Britain at that time were composed largely of merinos. The only important source upon which manufacturers could draw was the wool grown at home, the result being that prices went up to a point which they have not since touched, not even during the present crisis, when home-grown wool has been greatly in request to supply the deficiency of the colonial product. It may be said here that colonial produce takes first place in the estimation of sthe trade, which is in great contrast to the period immediately following the Franco--Prussian war. English crossbreds certainly fill a useful place in the trade, but th'ey only advance in price to any "extent when their competitor is in short, supply, and, as at the present time, when an abnormal demand is created. The Evolution of the Crossbred.

Brief reference has been made to the time when colonial wool was mostly of the merino type, but the exportation of English rams" to both Australia and New Zealand began to work a tremendous

change, and the development of the frozen mutton industry has brought along with it equally tremendous, expansion *in the weight, and no little' alteration in the character of colonial j wool exports. This is to-day particu- i larly true of New Zealand, and we now . have, taking our English and colonial crossbreds together, a very wide range; of qualities, varying from 28's the coarsest, to. 58's the finest. This'is what has been attained by the introduction of, Lincoln, Leicester, Romney, and other English blood from Great Britain, and there is not" the slightest doubt that the ; trade to-day owes an incalculable debt to the enterprise which made it possible. 'Of foresight it is somewhat out of place to speak, for no man could have expected to have foreseen the tremendous expansion which would follow from such small beginnings. What is Fine Crossbred? Tims far we have dealt in' a generalj way with the crossbred type of wool,; ic»ur remarks being intended to show j how it has come to its present standing, j Fine crossbreds are, of course, the finest j of the class to which, they-belong, and' are valuable to the trade because they, share some of the characteristics of ' merinos as well as those expected in the wool which gives them their designation. This is exactly where the value of fine crossbreds has come in in the present campaign. When military orders were first placed the call was for fabrics made up entirely of crossbred wool of the longer and coarser type, 40's to 44's, which are know as low crossbred, and 46's, which are known as medium, being used. The fabrics made by the firms who had in an ordinary way been supplying such weights of military cloths as sufficed for times of peace, were composed of worsted warp and woollen weft, and as these had proved satisfactory the first large actual war orders placed were for the same class of goods. At that time, however, the class of machinery available seemed suitable for turning otit all the.material wanted in accordance with these requirements, and, in consequence of the strong pressure brought to bear by the Bradford; end of the trade, fabrics made entirely on the worsted principle were accepted. The test of actual wear has, however, shown that khaki cloths made entirely of worsted are not of the best, and now, having supplied all their needs for the time being, and especially having in front of them _the prospect of a winter campaign,, the War Office are again showing the greatest interest in khaki cloth made on ( the principle referred to-—worsted warp and woollen weft. ' . V g Fine crossbred wool ranges from 50 -si to 58's, though the . 58's is very near , the merino standard/ and is called a i comeback, so that if we take 50's to 156's we have the qualities . which, strictly speaking, are within the fine crossbred range, and these wools and the tops into which th6y are combed have/experienced ,ji; very demand ever since the military requirements got ''into full-swing, particularly for hosiery goods. While the longer combing wools have been wanted for strength and soundness, fine crossbreds have come in admirably for imparting warmth and pliability. The Place of Fine Crossbreds.

We have shown above how fine cross,breds'have filled a very important place for manufacturing purposes, but there are other uses for which they are eminently suited. Readers Will know that tremendous hosiery requirements have been created within the past nine or 10 months. Now, if the same requirements had sprung up in there would have been nothing to fall .back upon except the Down wools of Great Britain; Well suited as th6se wools are for hosiery purposes, suitability alone does not fill the bill when wool is concerned. There must be also an adequate supply, and while English Down wools have been very extensively used to make the colonial hosiery sorts spin out, this resulting in the former making prices which are a record for the past 40 years, the colonial-grown article cannot be beaten. It is well worth repeating that for all hosiery goods, such as underwear, body belts, hoods, and the other various comforts which soldier and civilian alike need at an inclement sea,soit of the year, or where climatic conditions render thfem hygenically necessary, fine crossbreds have proved to be an inestimable boon. '

So fax, we have only touched casually upon the outlet for fine crossbred wools; what we now want to emphasise still more is the special-fitness of this class of staple for the production of blue serges, which fill such a large field in the textile world. It has been well said that a blue serge dress or suit is never out of place at any season of the year, and that is quite true. A blue serge always looks smart and dressy. We have here probably the largest outlet for fine crossbred colonial wool of. any, and these do admirably in producing either men's or women's wear serges. Of course, we know that a good many dress serges are .made from wools figuring around 44 's to 46's qualities. The cheaper dress goods are spun from coarse crossbreds, and when come to men's wear the bulk are made from 50's to 56's quality, the wholesale trade, excepting the very tip-top houses, seldom buying men's wear blue serges spun out of Botany qualities. The fact is, fine crossbreds are to-day' entering into large and important avenues of consumption, and when combine the big. hosiery trade along with the serge and coating industry, we have an explanation of the absorption of all the fine crossbred wools that Australia and New Zealand can produce. Future of Corriedales.

The writer has been advised several times during recent years that we may expect halfbred wools to get less in quantity as years pass, owing to the disappearance of the merino from New Zealand. Well, if that is so, it will be a calamity, for the lialfbred wools of Australasia give that handle that cannot be obtained when Down wools are substituted for the colonial halfbred. It seems to the writer that good Corriedale wdol that figures around a 50's quality is going to be an important source of supply for thi.# class of staple, and we put in a special plea for the maintenance of the merino among the flocks of New Zealand. It would be a iH?al godsend if the present 50,000 merino sheep which are being depastured in the Dominion eould be increased to 100,000. Tho reader can take it for granted that as long as the wool world lasts and spindles and looms are running, fine crossbred wbol will be an article--of first consideration among all topmakers, spinners, and manufacturers.