H.—34A.

and, at the same time, standards on which improvement can be gauged by the producer, as, for example, in the case of butter. Moreover, there is little definite knowledge available to the woolgrower, apart from opinions, often based on insufficient fact, as to the lines along which improvement in quality and price realization can be planned with sufficient certainty to enable him to devise with more exactness the lines along which long-range scheme of improvement should be directed with safety. At the present time each breeder " pursues his own fancy," with the resultant varied condition, particularly as regards our North Island wool. The question naturally arises as to the extent to which the fall in prices is the result of general world economic conditions or how much is due to a possible falling off in " quality "or change in demand as regards various types of wool. It may be mentioned here that " quality " has a special meaning when applied to wool, this meaning having arisen from the use of the term by the manufacturer. " Quality of wool " (that is, of a large group of fibres) expresses their average approximation to the desirable standards of response to manufacturing process to secure a particular manufactured product. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of exact statistics to provide a complete answer to these questions. For instance, we have not readily available definite figures of the quantities of wool of various grades produced in the Dominion, or of the average prices realized for these grades, yet it is very definite that the fall in price has been most serious in the case of the coarser crossbred wools, which constitute the Dominion's main production, than in the case of other varieties. This is exemplified by the following extract from the Wool Intelligence Notes of the Empire Marketing Board, No. 1 : — 1909-13. March, 1932. March, 1933. General commodities (Sauerbeck Index) .. 100 105 96 Carpet wool .. .. .. .. 100 88 81 Merino wool .. .. .. .. 100 68 71 Crossbred wool .. .. .. .. 100 47 41 More recent sales show considerable improvement in prices of Merino and fine wools, but only slight increase on coarse and crossbred wools. Further, the term " crossbred " as used in the United Kingdom and also in Australia includes our " halfbred " and down wools ; the index figure for what we in New Zealand term " crossbred wools " would therefore be appreciably lower than the figure given above. We are naturally led to inquire as to whether this relative price-level of different classes of wool is likely to continue, and whether the situation calls for some definite effort towards improvement or possible change in type of wool which may be produced without detriment to the other and at present main source of income of most of our sheep-farmers—i.e., the fat-lamb trade. This subject is particularly worthy of study by the Dominion, because wool is the one major agricultural product which enters most into international trade ; 50 per cent, of the world's production being exported from the various countries of origin (95 per cent, in the case of New Zealand), and there is more likelihood of continued free marketing conditions in wool than for any other of our products. Moreover, in any alternation of land-utilization which may be forced upon us by threatened quota restrictions, there is a large proportion of the farm area of New Zealand (particularly the hill country) which, with our present knowledge, can only be effectively utilized for raising meat and wool. It would appear, therefore, that the sheep and wool industry is of paramount importance to the country's future. There has, undoubtedly, been a world trend towards the use of finer wool and lighter-weight clothing, which manufacturers have been able to produce with little, if any, decreased properties of warmth. While the grower naturally believes that wool is better value and more suitable for all purposes than cotton or artificial silk the consumer is increasingly aware that great strides have been made in the manipulation of these rival fibres. Again, the fabric manufacturers' point of view is not an " all wool " view. His business is to make the type of cloth or hosiery, &c., for which he can find a market and, if by experiment with wool, in combination with cotton or artificial silk, he can explore new areas of demand he is not likely to keep to " all wool " products for the sake of loyalty to the woolgrower. It is plain that any propaganda, standardization, or research to induce manufacturers and consumers to use more wool must

Effect of Trade Restriction.

Trends in use of Various Types of Wool.

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