OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3742, 30 January 1913, Page 6

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

CHARACTERISTIC OF RIVER PLATE WOOLS.

[FROM OUB OWN COBBESFONDENTJ BRADFORD, Dec. 13. The holding of the first sale of RivetPlate new clip wools in Liverpool this week directs attention to what is being grown in that part of the world, and the subject is not without some interest to readers of this issue. It has been well said that the River Plate is the keenest competitor against the wool and meats which are being produced in Australasia, and that is correct. I have little hesitation in saying that the Commonwealth and New Zealand lead the way in the production of mutton and wool, although the Argentine is a close competitor. I have a strong impression that the Argentine will never outstrip our Colonial cousins in producing the highest quality of mutton and wool, providing pastoralists pay due regard to those principles of breeding which bring fairly reliable results. When all is said and done, Australia and New Zealand possess a climate somewhat .more salubrious than the Argentine, although that of the latter is certainly good. The pasturage seems to vary somewhat more than that of Australasia, and climate and pasturage are two important factors in producing satisfactory results. At the same time, the work which Argentine sheep men are doing is certainly of no mean order, and their achievements will stand careful inspection. There have been great changes in the sheep ;md wool world of the Argentine during the past few years, and it can he said that its pastoralists have gone in for producing meat, somewhat at the expense of wool. No doubt many firms are trying to combine a "ood carcase and fleece, but the methods employed, particularly in the get-up of the staple are' not anything like so up-t-o-date and smart as in Australia and New Zealand. There is room here for a vast improvement, for. the bulk of tlie River Plate clip comes to market just as it is taken off tiie sheep’s back, a line of action which meets with no favor at the hands of wool buyers. Looking more minutely at the wool grown in South America, the Argentine naturally claims premier attention. It has always been a country that depastured large flocks of sheep, and the whole of European manufacturers are grateful for the raw material which is coming from that part of the world. As already said, the wool has vastly changed- Loth in quality and character during the past 25 years. ! In the past days it presented a very j sorry spectacle; old wool buyers liv- j ing to-day refer to the time when ! fairly big weights were sold in Liver- ; pool and London, which offered a sharp contrast to the wools from Aus- ! tralia. Since then there has oer- ’ tainly been a great change, the wools . having improved considerably. In the old days merinos very largely pre- : dominated, just the same as they did in New Zealand. The incoming of the 1 “freezer” and the introduction of j such methods as enable the sheep to j lie killed and landed in London and ; Liverpool in a good consumable condi- i tion, has been the prime factor in ' bringing about the change which has ; been" wrought in the character of the ; River Plate flocks. We have no par- j ticulars showing what percentage of merinos and crossbreds are being kept j in the River Plate, hut should say ! roughly that- 75 per cent will to-day he i crossbreds, and the remainder mer- . inos and other breeds. This great change is entirely due to the transformation which has come over the export trade in frozen meat. Pastoralists have seen the wisdom of converting their merino flocks into crossbreds, thus keeping a larger animal more fitted to the requirements of the frozen mutton industry. No .sensible man can grumble at this reform, although it would be a pity if pastoralists in Australia adopted the same methods, and turned their merino flocks into crossbred. Practically speaking the world’s supply of wool from the chief countries “down under” consists of about 57 per cent of merino and 43 per cent of crossbred, hence it looks as if supplies are nearly evenly divided. In producing the great change in the flocks of the Argentine the Lincoln has been more employed than any other breed of mutton sheep. Some few years hack the demand amounted to nothing less than a boom, and very big prices indeed were paid; one Lincoln ram from the well-known flock of the late Mr Henry Dudding, we believe, fetching as high as 1500 guineas. It was a common thing to see up to 500 guineas paid for Lincoln rams of first class character, hut during the past year or two there has been the usual slump, and to-day nothing like the high prices, are being paid whi'Ti English stud stock breeders would like to see. The fact is, the flood tide has passed, the whole industry has now got down to whet ' may he called normal business conditions, and good trade is still done, with Argentine pastoralists in 1 English pedigree stock, abnormal prices are no longer forthcoming, nor hkelv to he. The employment of such a big quantity of Lincoln blood has worked a great transformation in the flocks of the River Plat- 1 , and to,-day crossbred wools from that State are certainly somewhat lower in quality than the bulk of New Zealand wools. We. think circumstances justify us in saying that a buyer could find far greater weights of 36’s fo 40\s in the River Plate than he coukl in New 7ep]ny>d. all due to the system of breeding which is in vogue. Perhaps we hear less about it, but the fact remains that River Plate pastoralists seem most concerned about growing a t a i: iii.r sheep, and. appear to be content to go on accepting current prices, and. pMoi! ing g.ieep and wool after their own heart. It must he said to the credit of Argentine pastoralists that the character of the crossbred wools grown today is a vast improvement on even a ■dozen years, ago. No doubt the J brood" i!rye become more acclimatised j and the importation of large quanti- ] ties of English pedigree stock has certainly left its mark upon them. All buyers alike say that the wools have vastly improved, and satisfaction is expressed that this is so. If there had been the same improvement in the get-up and offering of the La Plata wools as there has in the breeding, this tyoukl be still more acceptable to buyers, but this improvement may come in time. No one with any knowledge of how business is done in Australia or London can appreciate the method of purchasing in Buenos Aires, for the woo] as a rule is offered in funk, and the buyer has to make his own estimate of the “clean yield,” the heavy skirt being sold along with the entire fleece. It is here we say that' objection can be raised against the River Plate clip. Still, buyers know their trade, they get used to it,

it being the improved manufacturing properties of the wool whicli give the j most satisfaction. I In the old days there was a good j deal of prejudice against what is j known in the trade as 13. A. wool, but j every year finds that prejudice declin- ; ing. No doubt ltiver Plate wools j spin and produce cloth somewhat | harsher in handle than the wools of i Australia or New Zealand, but big ’ quantities are now bought by English 1 buyers to blend with similar qualities | crown in Australasia. Spinners say . that the tops produce satisfactory yarns, and no doubt a developing busij ness is being done with England m i theso wools. At the same time, the ; bulk of the River Plate clip is still j bought by France and Germany. ' Its I spinners and/ manufacturers have manipulated these wools now for a ! good number of years, they know their j good properties, and naturally are turning them to the best account possible. It is, nevertheless, in order | to say here that increasing interest is 1 being shown by West Riding spinners j and "manufacturers in River Plato ! wools, many firms sending their own i buyers to Buenos Aires for the season, and as time goes on still larger weights will be used in Bradford and district.

SHEEP STATISTICS

This article will be incomplete if we do not make mention of the sheep stock of the Argentine. _At one time it was supposed that in the River Plate itself between 90,000,000 and 100,000.000 sheep were being depasi tured, but the last census revealed a j very different state of affairs. In i looking at the sheep returns of that part of the world it is necessary to pay regard; to the number of animals which are being depastured in the whole of South America, for from Uruguay, Patagonia, Chili and the Falkland Islands, we are to-day receiving some excellent wools. During the last, few years some first-class lines have been shipped from Punta Arena, up. to 12£d being paid at the recent series of London sales for wool coming from that port and the Falk- | land Islands. The- following shows i the total number of sheep at present being depastured in South America: Argentine 77,303,517 Uruguav 26,256,296 Chili 4,224,266 Falkland Islands ... 715,000 Colombia 746,000 Other States 409,000 109,684,079 MERINOS BARELY STEADY. Turning' to wool markets, the past week has really shown no new devel-,, opment, everything' taking on to some extent a holiday appearance. The fact is, everything now appears to have reached' the maximum for the time being, and there is nothing to indicate that we are going to see higher values until the future appears a little clearer. It should be borne in. mind that 2s skl has never been, realised, 'hence the ease of id to id is not in the least serious. If topmnkers have secured somewhat cheaper wool, they are justified in taking a fraction less, but otherwise there is nothing important in connection with the market. Consumption remains undiminished, and no doubt with the end of the year drawing nigh the ease is fully justified. Crossbreds are very firm, in a large measure due to the strong overseas advices. All this is having its effect upon topmakers who are firmly quoting 15fd to 16d for 40’s prepared tops, but business is in no sense active.