470 



Wool Sales of 1908. 



[SEPT., 



THE WOOL SALES OF 1908. 



The wool sales this year were looked forward to with a good deal of 

 anxiety on the part of flock-owners. Country buyers, prior to any auction 

 sales, took advantage of the reported great fall in the price of wool, and 

 endeavoured to buy at a low figure, while flock-owners were induced to sell 

 in many cases by the report that wool would go still lower. Those, however, 

 who were in a position to hold their wool were subsequently repaid, as owing 

 to the keen competition at the auctions and a certain demand from America, 

 prices steadily improved, with the result that flock-owners who sold their 

 clip by auction were quite satisfied, and in many instances realised as 

 much as id. per lb. more than they had anticipated. 



At the early sales, in which a large proportion of the wool was of the 

 coarser kinds, the fall in price as compared with last year was from \d. to 

 6d. per lb. ; but at the later sales, in which fine quality Down wool formed 

 the bulk of the supply, the fall was from id. to 3d. per lb. 



The Hampshire and Wiltshire sales were a surprise to both buyers and 

 sellers— the former expecting to be able to obtain what they wanted at fully id. 

 to \\d. per lb. less money than they actually had to pay. Several buyers 

 expressed the opinion that these anticipations would have been fulfilled had 

 they gone into the country and bought privately instead of waiting for the 

 auctions. One of the chief causes of the exceptionally keen competi- 

 tion was the altering of several of the sale fixtures. Owing to the normal 

 date of the Winches cer sale having fallen during the pageant week, it 

 was postponed, and several auctioneers in other places arranged to put 

 off their sales for the convenience of the buyers. Blandford, however, 

 did not fall in with this arrangement, but kept to the original date, and the 

 Blandford sales, instead of being held on the day following those at 

 Salisbury, took place the week before, thus leaving all the buyers free to 

 attend small sales such as Hungerford, Newbury, Wallingford, and Didcot. 

 Another important cause was the heavy buying of Irish manufacturers. The 

 Bradford and Halifax buyers are wool merchants only, who buy the wool 

 and sell it either graded or as " tops " ; whereas the Irish buyers are cloth 

 manufacturers, who manipulate the wool from its raw state to the finished 

 article. They are therefore able to pay \d. per lb. more for their wool, thus 

 saving the middleman's profit. 



The quality of the wool was fully up to the average, but the proportion of 

 greasy over washed was greater than last year, and it is anticipated that 

 unless the difference in price increases the practice of washing sheep will 

 tend to diminish; nevertheless, at the later sales the demand for washed 

 wools was certainly keener than for greasy, probably owing to the fact that 

 the American demand is for washed wool only. Flock-owners, however, state 

 that the expense of washing and the risk of injury, especially to fat sheep, 

 are barely compensated by the small difference in price, namely, i\d. to 3d. 

 per lb., and with this several buyers agree. Still, buyers as a rule appear to 

 be indifferent whether wool is washed or greasy, for whereas a few buyers 

 deal in washed wool only, the majority buy both kinds, and owing to the fact 

 that for some classes of trade washed wool is indispensable, it is hardly likely 

 that the practice of washing sheep will entirely die out. The chief complaint 

 is that farmers spoil their samples by careless packing, the worst 

 offence being the habit, especially in Somerset and Dorset, of tying the 

 fleeces with string : the consequence is that pieces of fibre get into the wool, 



