N.Z. WOOL DEFECTS

Waipa Post, Volume 43, Issue 3354, 29 September 1931, Page 5

N.Z. WOOL DEFECTS

CAUSES AND REMEDIES. IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY. An address on the number of defects in New Zealand wool was given by Mr D. J. Sidey at the Wanganui Technical College Hall recently. He said that New Zealand had not been given a good name by Sir Frederick Ackroyd recently, who claimed that the Romney Marsh was not the best sheep for the production of wool. A number of fleeces had been sent from New Zealand when Mr Sidey was in England, but they had not been named. The fleeces had been given a good report by Sir Frederick, so it would appear that New Zealand wool was not as bad as it had been made out.

Mr Sidey pointed out that manufacturers require different varieties of wools for their various productions, the majority of wool being used by Sir Frederick being Lincoln, while the majority of the wool being produced in New Zealand was Romney. Apart from the fact that Sir Frederick had bought a lot of cheap wool, it was not hard to see why he did not like the New Zealand product. - One of the chief faults found m New Zealand wool was medulated, or coarse, fibre wool. Experiments were being carried out at the Massey Agricultural College for the defining of this coarse wool, and benzol was being used extensively for this purpose. Mr Sidey considered that, although a farmer might use benzol, he should also be able to pick it out by touch and sight. Irregular wool was often produced by shortage of food, Mr Sidey continued. The pure wool fibres were softer than the foreign fibres. Care should be taken when selecting a ram, and a sample of the wool should be taken, so that a true handling of the wool could be obtained. He explained that a better handling wool was desirable to compete against the hold that had been obtained by artificial silk. Changing fashions had to be reckoned with, and a good quality wool was necessary to meet the changes. He pointed out that the attractiveness of the wool was spoilt when it was discoloured, and this had a great psychological effect on the buyer. The discolouration was due to a dead yolk caused by certain season conditions, which had an effect on the growth of the wool. There was no known method for curing dead yolk. lickstained wool was caused by faulty dipping, and if the wool was stored when the sheep had not been properly dipped, the effect was detrimental. Canary stained wool, which was caused by the action of bacteria, was on the increase in New Zealand, he said. It was not favoured, as it affected the dyeing of the wool. Romney sheep were inclined to get a species of yellow jaundice skin, and it was possible that the cause of the stain might be due to that. But until research work had found out more about the defect, the cause would only be a matter for speculation. Mr Sidey discussed the advantages of certain breeds of sheep and concluding by saying that the best breed was the breed which paid the farmer best.