TABLE 6. Estimates (Feb. 1916) and Figures.
(Output of combs per annum.)
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Combs
1,500 combs long wool and crossbred each combing 600 Ib. per 10 hours
1,500 combs Botany each combing 300 Ib. per 10 hours
Actual 1914
Estd. 1916
Actual 1915
Estimated 1916
Actual (1917)'
Estimated 1916
Actual (1917)'
2,823
3,000
2,956
225,000,000
206,655,428
112,500,000
92,869,516
(Output of worsted spinning spindles per annum.)
Spindles
2 Ib. per week per spindle estimated
Actual 1904
Estd. 1916
Actual 1916
1916 | Actual (1916) l
3,000,000
3,000,000
3.24L7H
300,000,000 Ib. 300,241,712 Ib. (The 1915 actual was 253,879,664 Ib.)
1 Large quantities of scoured colonial wools were being imported, out being combed, thus eliminating " less tearage."
Certain worsted wools were also being drawn and spun with-
TABLE 7. Stock Dec. 31.
Schwartze % Type
o/
/o
Greasy Ib.
Clean Ib.
72 N.Z. greasy crossbred. 45 Aust. greasy merino . 85 scoured crossbred mtg. gsy. cross- bred mtg. gsy. merino . 73 low wools . 60 mohair, etc.
Private British Government British .
Total ....
70
45 85
72
43 75 80
50,656,000 49,438,000 33,704,000
17,901,000
4,638,000 40,223,000 17,807,000
35-459,000 21,258,000 28,648,000
12,888,000
1,994,000 30,167,000 14,245,000
68-69% 78 78
237,213,000 21,701,000 51,053,000
162,935,000 16,926,000 39,821,000
70-87%
309,967,000
219,682,000
Yield as above .
Leaving out skins, yield at 50 % (instead of 70-87%)
Increase (wool under-estimated) Skins, 7,238,000 Ib., not included.
. 219,682,000 Ib. (clean)
154,983,000 Ib. (clean) 64,698,500 Ib. (clean)
keep the Allies' wool industries supplied with wool, and much under-estimated the yields although they had the Leeds University suggestion of 40% for yield and tearage before them; (&) that the industry was feeling the shortage of wool and was regarding the future with misgivings; (c) that leading wool men thought it actually expedient to question the Govern- ment figures, and, if possible, to obtain at once a greater wool distribution; (d) that as subsequent figures seem to show, the university figures of 40% average loss between raw wool and finished top and the other figures supplied were most nearly correct, and would have served well as a basis to work upon. All these figures, however, are chiefly useful as illustrating the difficulties involved not only in estimating the workable supplies of wool during the war period but in estimating the yields and in averaging up the quantities of dean wool which the actual deliveries might be expected to give.
How serious was the problem of supplying wool to the home trade, and to such of the Allies as could manufacture it, is shown in Tables 8 and 9. To the quantities shown in these tables should be added something over 300,000,000 Ib. of remanufac- tured materials, probably derived as follows (in 1914 figures): Of the wool manufactured in Great Britain, 500,000,000 Ib., about | (166,000,000 Ib.) is retained at home, and about half this (or 84,000,000 Ib.) is torn up each year; rags imported amount to 100,000,000 Ib.; so that the total remanufactured materials (excluding noil) amount to 184,000,000 Ib. But this is probably an under-statement, as the figures collected by the Board of Trade during the war period show an average approx- imating to 200,000,000 Ib. Thus it would appear that the woollen industry of Great Britain roughly consumes per annum: 200,000,000 Ib. greasy wool l , 200,000,000 Ib. remanufactured materials, and 60,000,000 Ib. of noil, or a total of 460,000,000 Ib.
These figures reveal (i) the continuous reduction in the quantity of British wool grown and, excepting during the war period, manufactured in Britain; (2) an increase in supplies
1 This figure is questionable as large quantities of so-called clothing wools may be employed for combing purposes.
of colonial and foreign wools, if we take into account the fact that there is possibly still some of the 1919 period wool to be accounted for; (3) the increase in the quantity of colonial and foreign wool manufactured in Britain; (4) the large increase in the foreign and colonial importation in 1915; (5) the effects of the German submarine campaign on the 1918 importation, and the making up of lost ground in 1919; (6) the fact that the aver- age importation of colonial and foreign wool for the five years ending 1919 is much below the five years ending 1914. Had wool gone elsewhere, or had it not been grown? It may be noted (7) that Turkey mohair (sent to Britain by parcel post during the first year of the war) would disappear until 1919, the large in- crease shown on 1919 being no doubt partly Turkey mohair and partly Cape mohair; and (8) that alpaca, being free, was largely employed to take the place of merino wool during 1917 and 1918, the clipping of immature fibre led to the marked increase in 1918 and the consequent reduction in 1919.
TABLE 8. Pre-war Supplies of Raw Materials. (In millions of Ib.)
Average for five years finishing
1899
1904
1909
1914
1919
British wool : Grown Manufac. Britain Colonial and foreign wool Imported . Manufac. Britain Skin wool Pulled wool . Mohair, Alpaca, etc.
137 114
715 376 34 132 28
136 104
607 342 30 145 37
133 94
707 388 35 193 4i
131 95
782 463 35 206
42
1 20 105
724' 647
30 163
21
- This figure is explained in Table 9.
TABLE 9. War Period and Post-war Period Supplies of Raw Materials. (In millions of Ib.)
For years
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
Imported Foreign wool Colonial wool .
Totals .... Imported Mohair .... Alpaca .... Camels' hair
87 838
54 564
44 578
17 396
926*
6i8
623'
3-5 5-5
2-7
413'
5-6 7-0
2-3
1 ,042'
29-4
3-8 4-8
' Average for five years = 724 (see Table 8).
These facts and figures, although somewhat prematurely placed here, may be usefully borne in mind in studying all phases of the subject.
In April 1916 the Army Contracts Department of the War Office began to commandeer hosiery yarns on the financial basis of a fixed margin to cover the processes of manufacture. A little later restrictions were imposed upon the export of raw wool possibly owing to rumours of it reaching enemy countries and certainly because wool supplies for home purposes were becoming very restricted. By June 1916 the War Office knew that further control was almost certainly inevitable, and circu- lated compulsory requests for particulars of stocks of wool, tops and yarn, which requests, of course, were very disquieting to the trade. Later in the same month, so serious was the position judged to be that the War Office prohibited the opening of the British wool fair of Kettering, and, eventually, after some debate,
