Wool. By Frank Ormerod. (Constable. 6s. 6d. net.)—This very readable
volume is the first of a series on "Staple Trades and Industries." It gives a short history of the British woollen industry, a description of the trade in its various stages, and a notable chapter of statistics, with some remarks on the effect of the war. Australia leads the world ii the production of wool, with eighty-five million sheep and an export of wool valued in a normal year at £31,000,000. British sheep-farmers, according to Mr. Ormerod, are negligent in their methods of marketing their wool. He is unable) to Huy why Lancashire, apart from Rochdale, has withdrawn from the woollen industry in favour of Yorkshire ; but the high profits of the cotton trade probably induced the Lancashire manufacturers of is century ago, to concentrate on the new industry, whereas the West Riding manufacturers, being farther away from the sea; could not import raw cotton so cheaply as Lancashire did,, and therefore did not seek to rival her in the cotton trade. The author shows incidentally how seriously the recent changes of fashion in women's clothes have affected the woollen trade.
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