RURAL DISTRICT ITEMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 8940, 14 December 1907, Page 9

RURAL DISTRICT ITEMS.

(Specially Contributed.)

The first draft of fat black-face left Brancepeth Station on Wednesday last en route for the Wellington Meat Export Co's works. «hey were a very prime lot of freezers. December lias set in warm and dry. ideal weather for shearing. During last week there has been an appreciable amount of yolk noticeable in the wool. . . .

Mr J. MeKillop, of Puketiritiri station, began shearing last week. At Brancepeth the work will be out of hand in a few days. Some very good average tallies have been put up in this shed.

On the sth iiist the gang of twelve moil cut out just over 1800 sheep, or just over 150 sheep per iv.au. "The Einger," Koefe, accounting for 215. Your Yorkshire letter on the get up of wool, iv the issue of the sth, should appeal to, and be studied and taken to heart, by all wool producers iv the Dominion, for the information tendered is practical aud of real value. Especially with regard to the removal of all inferior portions of the fleece— /••more especially those parts which jLniay be seedy with piripiri (uativeiWburr). It is really surprising how conservative and wedded to obsolete and slip shod methods of doing work many farmers are. Yet the farmer as a rule is rather keen about making money, and soon growls at any little extra taxation, etc., while he calmly loses money year after year through the careless manner in which he manipulates and gets up his produce. The reports from auction sales show that in the matter of hides and skins these commodities, iv very many eases, are sent in in tire worst possible condition, no care being taken in the skinning, salting and preservation. The loss of money to the Dominion through the faulty get up of the pastoral products, such as wool, skins and hides, amounts to such an enormous sum as almost to call for State intervention, and, perhaps, not till that eventuates will a proper system obtain. The subject of vegetable

matter being mixed up with wool is

still to the fore, and the plan which is J|tfollowed by Mr 0. W. Little, of TQueensland, in making his wool pressers turn the wool packs, before use, inside out and remove all loose strings

of hemp fibre has much to commend

it. There is no doubt that the major * portion of the jute fibres that get mixed with the wool result from the inside of the tare, aud particularly so from the two bottom inside edges (unhemmed), and also from any seams across the sides. These edges fray out to a very great extent, and the obvious preventative is for the purchaser to insist that these edges of the sacking should be hemmed down in a similar manner to the top edges of the bales and caps. The extra cost of doing this would be a small item, and the extra material would only run into a few inches in each bale. If this plan were adopted the evil would be minimised to a very great extent.

Loose short ends, the refuse from

twine when sewing the bale cap down being pressed, are another fruitsource of trouble, as in many sheds they are cut off and allowed to drop on the floor, and there remain until swept up among any wool that may happen to be scattered about the shed. A careful shed manager will see that every particle of twine and loose hemp is picked up as soon as seen, and placed in some receptacle, say a bag, affixed to the press or some handy place in the slied.