THE WOOL MARKET.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13843, 24 December 1908, Page 3

THE WOOL MARKET.

FROM A BRADFORD VIEWPOINT

No man at all conversant with the wool trade- can survey the entire field without being struck with the fact that there is a great variety of raw materials; the numerous qualities, styles, length, and other characteristics forming leading essentials (writes the Yorkshire correspondent of The Dominion). There are those in tho trade who well remember tho time when wool supplies presented a different choice from what is the case to-day. Twenty-five to thirty years ago the different varieties of crossbreds now before the trade were practically an unknown quantity, the only really good supply being grown in the United Kingdom. The great export of English mutton sires to New Zealand and the River Plate has transformed the character of wools from those two countries considerably, and to-day practically one-half the world's clip is of a crossbred character. This has given to manufacturers a far greater variety than what used to be tn© case, and with the multiplication of qualities, real good has attended the trade. Instead of the principal fabrics worn by men being produced out of fine merino wool, crossbreds are being very largely manipulated, and some very sightly fabrics indeed are being^ produced in the shape of tweeds and serges.' What more serviceable cloth is thera than a nice crossbred indigo serge? These are always in fashion, and always look well ; though but for the colonial crossbred, which is largely the product of the English mutton sire mated with the merino, these fabrics would never have been worn like they* are. In producing these results English lustre breeds in the shape of the Lincoln and Leicester have playJed an important 'part, and a few thoughts on lustre wool cannot but appeal to a large number of readers. It is well worth asking, what breeds of sheep produce lustrous wool? Preeminently the Lincoln stands head and shoulders above every other sheep, and it has played a leading part in giving to the world wool of a very useful ana practical character. Of all the known breeds of sheep, the Lincoln produces the most lustrous fleece, and it is a wonderful thing to see the bright, shining, silvery appearance of a Lincoln staple. Next to this breed is one that possesses considerable merit, but is hardly so well-known, namely the Wensleydale. This is a much finer quality wool, of somewhat different character, and very little, if any, below the lustre of the Lincoln. Its merits for crossing with Scotch ewes for the production of half-bred lambs are too well known and are somewhat outside the subject, though a slight passing reference to its principal uses should be mentioned. Then comes the Leicester, and here again we get from this breed a nice, stylish lustrous staple, though somewhat below the standard of the Lincoln, so far as lustre is concerned. This, I suppose, is one of the oldest breeds of British sheep, and it certainly has proved its usefulness as a grower of gdod saleable wool. The fact, I think, should be recorded for the benefit of Home and colonial readers that a greasy Leicester-merino half-bmd wool grown in West Victoria actually sold this year in London at the noble price of Is 6d per lb., which is the year's record for crossbred wool, and considering the slump there has been this is indeed a splendid performance. As already mentioned, these fleeces from the breeds of sheep enumerated are perhaps best known as longwools, argeljr due, to the good length ot staple' grown, particularly on the Lincoln and Leicester breeds. Good Lincoln hog wool ranges among the longest grown staples of any class produced, and as sucli it is highly prized in the Bradford trade, although perhaps it does not command as a rule much more than a penny per lb. above ewes and wethers. It is best known for the special purposes to which it is put. Good bright lustrous, wools of their kind grown, and they are used in conjunction with mohair entirely because of the bright, silky appearance of the fibre. They are also largely consumed for topmaking purposes, and owing to their length and strength they serve a very good purpose for wrapping scouring machine rollers. The wool, as it passes through the scouring bowl, is wrung out as it leaves the^ machine, the operating being very similar tothe rollers of an ordinary household wringing machine, and these rollers are tightly wrapped with what is known as Lincoln hog top. This wool is also largely used in > the production of worsted dress goods and linings which, being inimitable, supply the most important markets of the world.

As already said, Lincoln lustre wools are the strongest in quality, Leicesters being a trifle finer and a little more soft in handle, while wool from the Wensleydale breed is finer still. It may be asked why these classes show the brilliance which they do, while other descriptions of wool show no lustre is to a large extent dependent upon, the character of the surface of the individual scales of the wool fibre, and the action and reflection of light upon and through them. This is a very intricate problem, and perhaps to woolgrowers of little importance,, it being the. commercial aspect which appeals to them most. At the same time it is as well to know how this important property is imparted, for a destruction, if it was possible, of this valuable property would be a serious matter in all lustre wools. In a word, the mechanical arrangement and structure of the surface of the wool fibre are very largolv the cause of the lustre connected with these wools, although the chemical composition and nature of the individual scales of each fibre aro responsible for reflecting the light. This property should be preserved, for it is of considerable imDortanco to the worsted industry, in Fact, these were the wools which praclically founded the great industry that i-> now centred in Bradford.