WOOL-SELLING 145 



of wool in the hands of the different buyers the same evening 

 or first thing the following morning. 



The speed with which everything connected with wool-selling 

 in Australia is effected is truly wonderful ; it speaks well for the 

 system and manner in which the sales are conducted by the 

 selling brokers. 



There are very few mistakes or complaints made, and our Law 

 Courts are seldom troubled with wool disputes. The charges for 

 selling wool in Australia have been raised this season, 1913-14, 

 the prices now being as follows : 



Receiving, Weighing, Warehousing, Lotting, Re- 

 packing, Sale Expenses, etc. ... ... ... One-eighth of id. per Ib. 



Commission ... ... ... ... ... ... ^200 and under, 3 per cent. 



^200 to ^500, 2 per cent. 



,, ... Over 500, i per cent. 



Insurance is. 6d. per cent. 



Farmers are supplied by the selling brokers with printed 

 weight books and other necessary printed forms, to enable 

 them to dispatch their wool without a great deal of trouble. 

 Most of the stores have a railway siding running alongside, 

 the bales being unloaded from the railway trucks right on to 

 the store platforms, thus avoiding all town cartage expenses. 



Most of the brokers have an up-to-date shearing shed on the 

 premises. A sum of sixpence per sheep is charged for shearing ; 

 this includes cost of classing, baling, and branding the wool. 

 At wool-brokers' shearing sheds anything from 40,000 to 70,000 

 sheep are shorn during the season. 



The wool-selling season in Australia opens on or about the 

 following dates : 



Sydney ... .. September gth 



Melbourne October loth 



Brisbane September I5th, and after regular selling 



season, one sale every month 



Adelaide ... ' September 20th 



Geelpng , October 3oth 



Hobart ... ... ... ... \ 



I First week in January 

 Launceston ... ... ...j 



New Zealand Early in November 



II 



