THE IMPORTANCE OF WOOL RESEARCH.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20928, 6 January 1938, Page 6

THE IMPORTANCE OF WOOL RESEARCH.

“Sheep farmers should counter lower wool prices by better production and quality, brought about by greater care.” In these words, a visiting Australian authority on sheep breeding and wool growing, has merely reiterated what has been said over and over again in New Zealand. In the past, altogether too much has been taken for granted because it has been assumed that while wool remains definitely the superior of all other textile fabrics, in spite of the enormous increase in the poduction of substitutes, there is really no need to worry. It is moreover, realised that in times of stress, any increased use of artificial fibre will be temporary, being dictated by local economies more than a desire to replace wool which should inevitably regain its place in world selling and buying markets. It is not for nothing, however, that a programme of scientific research is being embarked upon in the Homeland. 'The wool grower on his part ought not to remain unresponsive to the criticism that is periodically voiced in many wool consuming countries, while the voices of tiie experts ought not to be ignored. It is pointed out, moreover, that with the advance of quality in artificial fibres, the obviously lower quality wool must necessarily suffer in the markets of the world. Therefore, because wool men the world over will always be ready buyers of wool, every breeder in New Zealand ought to be guided by the conclusions of wool research activities, because, as has been so often pointed out, inferior-bred and under-nourished wools must always receive restricted attention, especially during periods when the wool market is depressed.