Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-07-27
MARKET STORES FOR WOOL.

cTn CIdtcS Vic pIdCllCe Has DcCOuuo Qulte SoH-
eral among farmers of massing their wool
in some building in a town that has ship
ping advantages, having it sorted by a COM
petent person into the proper grades, and
setting a time when it will be ready for the
inspection of purchasers. The advantages
Of this system of disposlng of wool over that
of selling it in individual lots to travelling
purchasers or of sending it to distant cities
to be sold on commission, are many. In the
first place very few farmers are good judges
of the quality Of wool. They see by the
market quotations in the papers what the
different grades of wool are worth, but be-
ing unable to grade it, they do not know to
what classes the fleeces belong. The tray-
cling buyer is an expert in judging wool,
and as a consequence has matters pretty
much his own way. Quite likely he buys
the whole lot of three or four hundred fleeces
at the price the poorest class of them is
worth. Now there would be likely to be in
that number of fleeces six or eight grades Of
wool, varying in value from five to fifteen
cents per pound. At best he equalizes the
price between the different grades, but if
this is the case the seller is likely to be the
loser, as the quantity ofvaluable wool may
be much larger than that of the inferior
wool.
Often a buyer on going into a neighbor-
hood establishes a maximum price Which he
will pay farmers for their wool, doing the
same thing that the local trader does in the
- Il T. LIZ ---~ H. c,-.,o-
who raises very choice wool, who washes
his sheep with care, and puts up the tleeces
in the best manner, is the loser. Market
quotations are no guide to a man who can
read figures but has no knowledge of what
constitutes a given grade. By bringing to-
gether the wool of several hundred farmers,
there are a sufficient number of f1eeces be-
longing to each grade to make a respectable
lot, and if they are properly sorted, the
farmer, by reference to the market quota
tons, can see what each lot is worth. In
this way he gets the value of each individ-
ual fleece. The expense attending this sort
ing is slight. In the east the expert m
ployed ordinarily receives for his services a
cent and a half per pound for the wool he
sorts.
By bringing the buyers and sellers to-
gether, the farmers learn much about the
relative value of different kinds of wool.
They soon understand which are the best
kinds ofsheep to keep for profit. They also
see the advantage of properly washing their
sheep, and Of putting up their fleeces in pre-
sentable shape. They learn which of their
sheep should be marketed for mutton, and
which should be kept for breeding urposes
In many places the large building on the
county fair grounds could be used for the
purpose of a wool fair without expense.
The enclosure for fair purposes is generally
centrally located and within easy reach of a
railroad depot. The main building on it is
ordinarily sufficiently remote from other
buildings to insure protection against fire.
Il the wool is brought together a week be-
fore the sale day there will be ample time
for sorting the feeces and arranging them
to the best advantage for the inspection of
purchasers. During this time one watch
man is sufficient to guard it. If the farmers
in several counties or towns on the same
Inc OF road would arrange to hold their
wool fairs one or two days apart. the wool
buyers could conveniently go from one place
to another without loss of time, and could
take their several lots of wool on the same
train.-Chicago Times.
DocToRING A HoRsE.-f a horse sweats
1oamy and frothy, he is not right, it shows