, 1863-10-06
MEETING 0E ILLINOIS WO0T,
GROWERS,
Discussion On Shetp Washing
and the Price of Wool.
Passage Of Important Resolutions.

lie 1quare, in front Of the Revere House. Not
Tithstanding the inclemency Of the weather
and the poor accommodations for the meeting
the attendance was quite large, embracing
many Of the most prominent wool gro ners il
the State.
Hon. Geo. ". MINER, of Lasa1e; county
tas called to preside, and c. r. Oserman, o
Mclean, appointed Secretary. The subjec
announce for discussion was sheep washing
Mr.. Gill, Of Macoupln, WAS in favor o
washing eheep. He knew Of no reason why
sheep should not be washed, but many rea
sons why thsy should. Fleeces would lost
twenty-five per cent. Of weight by washing
but they were worth fifty per cent. more. Hf
crossed the common breeds with Cotswolds
and got about eeyen pounds Of wool to the
fleece; and they we're worth at least $Ao0
each.
Mr. Hill, of Latayette, thought tho East far
ahead Of the West In preparing wool for mar
ket. In the first place, they have the advan-
tage In the color Of their sand, 1t being light
color, Fhile ours Ia dark, and must be clean.
washing, wash the bellies and extremities
best. but for washing the bodies he preferred
brook, to be formed into pond by dam.
ming, and then let the water on to the sheen.
through spout. This cleaned the back, bat
did not take the oil from the extremfties,
and with this the manufacturers found fault.
In the East they wash their wool, and wash it
Mell, and It was appreciated By the manutac-
turers. He thought If the West would do the
same, 1t would be to our advantage. He was
net prepared to give an opinion Us to what
thou1d be the price Of wool.
Mr.. WENTWORTH, or oooK COUNTY,
Said in relation to washing wool, much de-
penda upon the locality. In many places in
The West, 1t is impossible to wash On account
Of the lack Of good streams. He had regard
TOR sheep, and did not believe In washing
them. It was natural for them to avoid
water, and he did not believe In forcing them
into it. He had known many aheep TO die,
by doing 20. He found there were systematic
efforts BY the wool dealers ofthe East to keep
the price Of Eool down. There are few home
buy ers, and all ,ot those buy for Eastern
houees, ard they control the prices. The
commercial reporters Of the daily papers get
their information from this class Of agents,
Who are interested In keeping the price down,
ard although the reporter may be never SO
honest, be Is dectired by them He spoke Of
the pe,Diclous influence Of the New York
Etpnomtst upon the wool market. A few Ye1rs
ago 1t urged farmers to 60 into the wool busi-
nets, as the price was going to be high. A
year or two after, series Of articles was pre-
Western press, urging them to publish them,
Offering to pay for them II necessary. These
s1tic1es we're to the effect that ii the
Western farmers did not cell them wool at
Low prices, the Eastern manufacturers would
go to importing it. He WIS aftald the neces.
stiles Of onr wool growers had sent them into
market on low prices, and would continue to
IN En 13a fhnurhf Gaa1 unn1 rurhf IN ha
worth IS cents pound. Manufacturers we're
now buying short, In the hope that the neces-
titles OF wool growers would force them into
market; but be thought that II they stood ont
a short time the necessities Of the manufac-
turets would ca1ry the price up.
said an We wanted was protective thrift for
wool. In the old country there are immense
numbers Of large sheep growers, and ne can
shut them out By protective tariff. He Ind
a good location for waehipg. This year he
washed and his ne1ghbors did not, and the
five cents Per pound, whereas the real differ
be at 1east33 PER cent He WAS against wash
Ing Sheep. It was great punishment. They
have great fear Of wafer, and they are fire.
quently injured BY the severe handling they
Get. while putting them in the water, and
While washing them.
A144A NCAk"OA<A$ VI S0Nhf 60A 3Ck 416AAANt
eolye this question Why Will Eheep always
60 around waters Simply because they dis
Ike to 60 into 1t. His opinion was It was
injurious to the eheep to. wash them. II
eheep.groners did waah them, his advise WINS,
that i be doEe on stormy day, as the effect
Of Lifting sheep into the water On euch u
day was 1ess severe
Mr. 4. B. Mcconnell, ofSangamon county,
Eaid It had been the practice in Center I'LL.
nofs to Wnsh sheep, from the fact tn It It pays
better-We got more for our WOOL His,
sheep, he believed, had never suffered from
wathirg. He had never :lost but a single
sheep in washing, and that, he thought, was
In regard to tariff, he thought the best one
we could have was good dog law and the
wool growers ought to exert Themselves to
tlis end. and have dog Inv passed. Wool
growers suffered more from canine pests than
any other cause. He WAS in favor Of State
and county organizations Of wool growers.
He Was in taEor Of wool growers In each
e1s OF fheep In sangamon county propose to
rut up building ii Springfield for the stor-
age Of wool, and appoint an agent to have
charge Of it, and hold it for . proper market.
He saw no reaeon Why wool growers should
not combine to protect themselves as well Is
otter producers. Resortiug to washing
tat a akep he good Tss wash Ct ss sss oRpia1 ann.s
were improved By being kept clean. He dldnot
wash In running water, but in vats made TOR
the purpose, eay eight feet by twenty, with q
Ttream 1urniug In through spout at one end
aid out at the other. In one Of these he put
to tend and wnsh them. He thought he wash
ed bis wool as white as they did in the East.
He thought We growed better wool In the
West than In the EaEt-the staple is more
eyep- This is became ne feed them better.
Mr. OEerman, Of Mclean, thought good
Oeage olarge hedge MAS better for the protec-
ne1 Of f.nna 1heyP agnst d9gs than dog aw
Mr.. Kelley, Of Du Page, said In Vermont
they did Lot wash fine blood sheep, because It
injn1es thtm. The shrinkage In washing Is
about 33 Fer cent. Squeezing the wool causes
ehrinksge. They hare adopted In Du Page
county The plan Of having = central wool
house, and all growers bring their wool there
unwashed. He Was opposed to washing. 1t
injured the sheep. Il he washed his sheep,
he prevented his men from squeezing the
wool. It was not necessary il q running
stream, snd it caused scurt Ia the wool.
Wherever the hand grips the skin there will
be sculf In the wool, and 1t will last for the
year.
Mr.. Brown, Of sangamon, agreed with MI.
Mcconnell. He Waahed his sheep in the watts.
He drove them In, and only handled them
when positively necessary BY their peryerse-
nees. He placed men IN the vats to squeeze
the wool. BE had never experienced any IN
convenience In Mashing; Would occasionally
veil us If they had not been in the water.
The buyer OF wool usually makes 80 per cent.
difference between washed and unWashed.
Hethought In coarse grades of wool In parhc-
u]ar, 1t was much better to wash. Dogs are
great drawb back to sheep raieipg. He saw
no remedy for this, except to kill the dogs.
n Ef1 NJ think rf ha1naa. tt
necessary to change sheep pastures OCCASION
ally, and It would be impossible to have
hedges all over your sheep pounds. He
thought the present price Of wool Was fair
one, but 1t did not correspond with the price
Of manufactured goods. He spoke Of the
strategy ard intrigue ot Eastern buyera, but
did not see how we could control this matter.
He Was Of the impression that Il wool grow
ersacted discreetly they would get seVenty-fye
cents pound for their wool.
Mr., Kelly, of DuPage, fed his sheep on
oats, on the straw, same as bay. He be-
lieyeG oats healthier than corn. He feeds
twice a day with: hay, and once with oats-
has his lambs come as near the LIST Of April Us
possible. In addition to oats and hay he
sometimes gives his bearing. ewes corn meal,
oats and bran mixed Root crops are good
for them, bnt are more troublesome to feed
Does not approve Of too much: green feed In
cold Reat1eT. IL SCOUTS LAe auetpi plt4ess
dr5 hay. The climate Of Decatur fs warmer
than biz, and that will make some difference.
He could winter sheep on hay. alone, but 1t
is rot.:eo good for them. He has sheds for
them, which they occupy winter nights and
stormy dsJs; but he prefers to have them
cut doors when pleasant, II Eeyer 50 cold.
ebedding, by means Of heated manure. He
OBJECTED to 1at bucks: they produced weak
and tick1y lambs. He does not allow bis
ewes to drop kmbs until they are three years
old. He has one eve twentJ:one yeara old !;
another eighteen. The average tenure OF Life
With his sheep Is twelve to fourteen ye.rs.
Mr.. Flsgg, Of Madison county, said that his