OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LX, Issue 9344, 15 April 1909, Page 2

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

WHAT IS CROSSBRED WOOL?

(From Our Special Correspondent.) BRADFORD, March sth, 190 U.

Nobody need bo told life this time of the day that there is a great variety of qualities in wool, aud that the diversified needs of manufacturers can easily be supplied. In this respect there is a great change, old wool men in particular delighting to speak of those clays wheu hardly a bale of colonial crossbred was to be met with iv any series of London sales. But such in no sense obtains to-day, for the world's production of wool is about evenly distributed between merinos and crossbreds. This shows at once what a great aud important, change has come over tho character of wool supplies, aud with the great outlot that has been fouud for frozen mutton, there is no likelihood whatever of either Australasia or the Argentine going back to breeding exclusively merino sheep. Neither does the trade desire such a course of action, for with the increasing supplies of crossbred wool equally as big and important au outlet has beeu found for the goods manufactured from these wools. However, before proceeding to deal with tho subject of what is meant by crossbred wool, Jet mo show what proportion of merino aud crossbred wool is being produced in Australasia and tho River Plate. The following aro reliable figures showing tho imports for the soason in million lbs of clean wool :— In iB ( JS the total was :j ( .)(5 million pounds of merinos aud 184 million pounds of crossbred, the proportion of crossbred beiug 55J.7 per ceut. In 18.)!) the iiguros were respectively ;.15, 2<>(> aud -15.8; in li) 00, 348, 255 aud 50. T; in 11)01, SJOS, 285 aud 48.1: in 11)02, 304, 282 aud 48 1 ; iv 11)03, 2GB. 288 and 51.8; in 11)04. 244, 2(5:3 aud 51.8; iv 11)05, 281, 272 and 49.2; in 11)015, :Jl7, 271) and 4(5.8; in 1007, 355, 21)1 and 45.0; in 11)08, 3157. 21)5 and 4<i. 7. Witli the multiplication of qualities, tho trade lias found it necessary and expediont to adopt a kind of dividing line, and tne wools of the world, broadly speaking, are classed uuder two heads, namely, merinos aud crossbreds. Anything ranging from <50's and upwards comes uuder the category of merinos, and everything below (iO's is reckoned iv the trade as crossbreds. Of course, the dividing line is a somewhat near one, for what some men call <s()'s quality, others will call 58's, or more often strong (iO's. There is to-day being growu an essentially merino sheep whoso wool cannot bo called more than (iO's, if that, but that wool is of a most useful character, and is largely availed of for the production of long warp (iO's tops. Iv tho majority of cases this wool is mixed or blended witli other wools a trifle finer, aud iv that way a very respectable aud saleable top is obtained. At the same time it may be said that a bare (50's is a good 58's, but an essentially 58's cannot be called a merino wool. New crossbreds really begin at this count, aud range all the way down to 28's. The reader will therefore, see that crossbred wools cover a very wide Held, liouco it is customary in the t-rado to subdivide these into three heads, namely, coarse, medium, aud five crossbreds. This the trade has found to be a very useful proceeding aun servos a very good purpose. In the case of coarse crossbreds anything below 3(i's is really PJuglish, but is broadly understood to come uuder the category of crossbred, though iv tho trade the term crossbred is merely applied to Colouial and River Plate fleeces that have docended from the English sire. This has grown to be a colossal trade, and because of that fact the uumerous qualities that are produced come under tho designation of coarse, medium, aud fine. Really speakiuc, coarse descriptions range from 3(s's to 40's quality, and some would include eveu 44's. Medium crossbrods comprise wool with a spinning count of from 4.4's to 50's quality, and then five includes from 50's to 58's, which is usually halfbred wools, or really the first cross between a merino ewe and an English mutton sire. This gives the reader a very comprehensive idea of the meaning of the word crossbred wool, or rather what qualities are fouud in that category. If one wants the real dictionarymeauing of the word crossbred, then it is the product produced from parents of different breeds, but for all that the wool resulting from this line of action is good, sound and useful.