Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1884-12-11
WOOL.
Shall II or Shall IL Not De washed Re
fore II l. Oaered For sales

fore II l. Oaered For saIes
For some time we have been industri-
ously seeking information 70 confirm
previous knowledge sboct wool, its
growth. terms used by breeders and
dealers, ideas about condition, what is
desirable and what is undesirable.
We have stumbled on many things
which have surprised us not little. and
among other things that some dealers
advocate the clipping Of all wool I'M
washed. and 50 marketing il, claiming
that il will keep better in that condi-
ton than when washed. Another firm
touches upon this subject IN its cir
cular rot endorsing these views, but
would rather educate BUYERS up to
higher standard.
The facts are about as follows: All
Australian wool comes TO this market
greasy" that Is. entirely unwashed in
anv way. The fine Australian woods
which are all skirtcd when clipped viii
average in shrinkage from fifiy-twO to
fifty-six per cent In Australian
'-c7nss breds.' which viii range in
American terms. or rather Philadelphia
terms. from common 20 three-eighths
blood. the shrinkage viii be about ten
per cent. less than the fine wcols-
domestic woods. which inclUde Ohio.
PENNSYLVANIA and West Virginia. are
always washed. and shrink from fifty
to fifty-six per cent. bnt then there Is
the difference between careful washers
and careless washers. and also the fact
that some growers viii clip Immediately
after washing. while others. for various
reasons. viii not clip until the wool
gains weight again from The secrcfiO y
of animal grease and other causes. The
original wOol-grOwing States are the
only ones which adhere rigidly 10 the
longtime custom Of washing sheep; the
Territories and newer States. such n
California. Texas. Montana. etc. clip
their sheep unwashed and so market
their wool. Now. if all climates. soil,
and pasturage were alike, there would
be no difficulty in this matter. and 10
the buyer II would be plain sailing. II
we examine into this matter further we
shall find where the difficulty occurs
IL will be seen above that Australian
unwashed wool and domestic washed
wool shrink about the same. OF coGrst
Australian wool i skirtcd. while
domestic Is not. Australian shrinks
more fron the natural grease and yOlk
in the fleece. while the greatest loss in
domestic wool comes from the shrink
age in the skiriings Of foreign sub
stances
Our readers will please bear in mind
the above while we examine into other
woods. Texas and California woods. for
instance. which are clipped unwashed.
and in that state reach our market. viii
shrink from sixty TO eighty per cent in
securing: fine Texas viii shrink about
two-thirds, and il is the same with Cal
ifOrnia- The investigator would
naturally inquire why should Texas
unwashed shrink sixty-six per cent.
while Australian unwasked shrinks
fifiy-four per cent. the l:tier being the
most slightly wool. while the other l.
the most unsightly? In the one case
only the animal grease and yolk is
found, while the other is full Of dirt and
dust caused BY broken sod on the
pasture, which combined with the nat
ural oil in the wool, makes anything
but pleasing composition. As We have
neither s.been To Texas, California. nor
Australia We en- not explain why this
Is so except that in some territories
bunch grass and hare ground prevail.
while in Others the soil / mOre compact
With the state of things existing as de-
fined above. il viii readily be seen that
the smartest wool buver IS he who i
the best judge Of shrinkages.
and. a this Is one of the senses. II = a
natural gift, just As that of music OF an
infuitive knowledge Of eolOrs. IL IS
this knowledge which raises the good
buyer above the roOr one
The good buyer in 4 driving season viii
no. waste time with the grower who Is
undecided upon the value OF his clip
Oh. no. the day j. too short; he viii
skim rapidly along and pick up the
clips that he ! at a glance satisfied
with. ard leave the doubtful ones to the
other fellow with whom nature has not
dealt 50 kindly. Now. if all wOOls
We're washed, and washed precisely
alike. the occupation of the skillful
buyer would. in a measure. be gone.
for the reason that shrinkages would
be brought within very narrow cir
cuil. Some of our wool dealers think
that the time viii come in this country
when al the wool viii be sold secured
We have our doubts about this, and
serious doubts. 200. for with most OF
the wool that Is offered secured there is.
st.ll an estimate Of shrinkage to be
made. and there i still an actual shrink
are. There Is no reason why securing
mills should not do better than the best
wOollen mills could do, but they dOa't
as far as our experience goes
As the only basis Of purchasing wool
can be on Is net product, It can be
readily seen that the science of esiimaf-
ing wool al sight Is the all-impOrtani
question for wool dealers and wool mal-
ufactur~rs who buy their own wool -
TcLtiie fgRHJGctarcr.