Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-06-10
agricultural
TO wooL-eRowERs.
NO. III,
AGRICULTURAL Rooms, }
Aldan June 4th, 1876. :

DEAR SIR From the iactS ana az
guments of my last letter. it would seem
certain that there mus be created, eltli-
or by arrangement or by the force OF CIR.
cumstances. set of men who will fulfil
in this country the duties that are per-
formed in England by the Wool Broker.
Either the farmers alone, or in conjunct-
ion with the manufacturers, must APP
point agents who sell exclusively on
commission. Will such an agent fulfil
all these requirements which | have men
toned as necessary to success? Let us
examine the point according TO the i'm
mutable searching laws of business.
Such an agent must be responsible to
the manufacturer for the character Of
the wool he sells him, and of course he
will be compelled to know the exact
condition of every fleece that comes in
TO his warehouse, and at once point out
to the farmer its excellencies and its de-
fccts. So far then the scheme works.
The manufacturer is sure of the condi-
ton of the wool, and the farmer reward
ed for his care. Will he be rewarded
for his skill /? Unless feeces are sorted
il cannot be done; if sorted with skill
and Judgment, it can. No one is fool
enough to believe that although manu-
facturer may be satisfied that the condi-
ton Of the wool is all right, and can also
see with his own eyes that every fleece
in the lot offered him by the agent has
The very quality of fneness, length Of
staple, and strength of fibre that he re-
quires, that he will, nevertheless, pay no
more for such lot than for one of which
he knows either nothing, or knows that
it will not suit his mandatory.
1t is useless to waste words to show
that from the very circumstances enumer-
ated, that any, that all manufacturers
will pay, under these circumstances, a
fair discriminating price. Allowing that
manufacturers are sharp and selfish, they
are not fools and madmen.
| am allowed to state that n factory
of high character and large capital, have
resolved no longer to buy wool unless it
Is presented to them exactly under the
circumstances have mentioned, for they
Aaye been compelled for long peri.
nod TO manufacture kind of wool the,
do not want, to their great injury, with
machinery that is fitted for superior wool.
But they had accumulated under the old
system a large stock Of inferior wool,
and it had to be got rid of. feel quite
sure, if my inquiries were further extern
ded, | would be able to state the same
facts of good many others.
1t is very certain that without free
and frank intercourse between the agent
and manufacturer, no sorting of feeces
can be satisfactory. The agent must
know what style of wool the latte wants,
and though he may arrange his feeces
under ever so many numbers run among
the sorts of the wool stapIer, his sorting
will do but little good. The fact is,
the system must work well, because il
is for the interest of both the farmer and
the manufacturer cordially to cooperate.
But will the manufacturer hold free
intercourse with the agent of the far
mer? Will he do any thing that is for
his own interests? 1t is absurd to an
swer the question.
Will the farmer receive prompt pay
In one sense which will explain by and
by, l hope not in another sense, | an
swer. not only as prompt, but far more
prompt than under the old system.
TO small extent am wool-grower
myself, and unfortunately very needy
one. am ever puzzled to know what
10 do with my wool. have waited for
the wool-deaIer to call, but hope defer
red maketh the heart sick, and when he
did call | have sold for whatever he chose
10 give. Afterwards ! found he had
given a price which sustained his inter-
ests better, far better, than mine.
then undertook TO sell nv own wool
TO the liberal wool merchants in ALBANY.
Sometimes it arrived before the marker
was formed of course there it had to
be ware-housed; and however diIigent
] might afterwards have been, | never
could find the right time to sell in order
TO secure the highest market price, and
am sorry TO add, that when sold al last,
warehouse charges, and those of ct &C.
teras, which are appended to accounts
OF sales, convinced me that | would have
done better 10 have sold even before the
market price was formed. However il
may have been with others, ! have new
er been able to count upon the same
fair prices and prompt returns for nv
wool, that have been able to coun,
for my other farm products.
This year my wool is RENTED to an
agent who charges me one cent per
pound commission for selling, which
covers all expenses except insurance, and
for which | pay him one quarter of one
per cent for each three months; he at
once gave Inc an advance of two-thirds
OF the value of the wool, for which adj
vance pay him seven per cent interest
Am gamer or loser by the operation /?
Shall l waste your time and exhaust
your patience by an absurd argument to
show that | am gamer. will simply
say TO the farmer that no argument is
necessary to establish this point. You
are no better than the cotton grower.
and that is precisely the condition under