Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-15

! Mr.. McCaughey's 5000 ram, which took
| first prize. 1t was a great oblong bundle
| of wool with a pair of big horns at one
| end of it. The wool lay on 1t in folds and
| rolls, the skin apparently wrinkling itself
| in order that it might hold more. Its ears
| We're entirely hidden by the wool. The
/ wool came out three inches over it's eyes
| and there small holes in it through
| which the eyes looked out. / stuck my
! finger into the fleece and could just touch
/ tho skin without putting my whole INST
| into it. The wool hung down In great
| punches on the belly and the legs We're
| covered clear to the hoofs. on the out
| side the wool was of dirty color
| but when l pulled it aside and looked in
| 1t was of a rich creamy white. The
| strands of woods were spiral and springy
| and very fine.
| In some of the stalls I saw ewes which
| had thirty pounds of wool on them: ana
| everywhere | heard the praises of our
| Vermont sheep. / asked one man whether
| the sheep did not lose their wool from
| generation to generation IN so warm a
| country as New South Wales. He replied
| that they did, and that the bringing in of
| cold-climate sheep, such rs the Yer
| montS,' prevented this.
| Among the Sauatters.
| The sheep owners, or squatters, as they are
called. were all well dressed and well edu-
| Gated men. There were hundreds of them
| at the show They looked more like
crowd of Yankee business men than any
| thing else and at the dinner which was
given they made speeches In response to
| toasts which were as good as you will
hear anywhere.
| They were all landholders and many had
| farms which would be considered princi-
| palities IN the United States, but which
| are looked upon as quite small here For
| instance / asked whether the vice presi-
| dent had a large station. The reply
| was that he had not, and that his posses
sions all told comprised only about 5000
acres of land. Another man vas pointed
| out who owned two hundred thousand
| acres and another who had half a million
| acres, all under fence
| In the Wool Warehouses.
| Sydney is the chief wool market Of Aus
| tralia 1t ships hundreds of millions or
pounds of wool to Europe every year and
| 1t has some of the largest wool warehouses
| in the world. Let take walk through
one of them. We are in a great room
! covering many acres. 1t is rooted with
| glass and upon it's floors are thousands Of
bales Of wool. Each bale Is as nigh as
| your shoulder. 1t is wrapped In yellow
| bagging, but the top is open and the white
| wool seems to have burst forth and to be
| pouring out upon the floor It is marked
| with the station from where 1t comes.
| In other parts of the warehouse are
| mountains of wool which have been taken
| out of the bales, and in other places the
| men are repacKing the wool for Shipment
| examine it. See how dirty and greasy the
| wool is. The sheep are not washed before
| shearfng and the wool is exported as 1t
| comes from their backs. the cleaning be-
| ing done after it reaches the European
| markets. Thrust your hand into the Pile.
| Now look at it, 1t shines as though 1t
| were coated with vaseline and your cuff
| Is soiled with the grease.
| Selling Wool In sydney.
| one of the curious features of Sydney Is
ton. The sales take place In November,
| December and January, when buyers from
| England and the continent and from the
| United States and Japan come here to bid.
| The buyers wear long overalls and linen
coats while examining the wool. They go
| from bale to bale, taking notes of each
mans stock In order that they may know
how much to offer for It In the auction
| rooms. AS many as 1000 bales are some
| times sold in day, and single sales will
| foot up as much as three-quarters of a
million dollars.
/ chatted with Mr.. F. f. Winchcombe
| one of the largest wool dealers of Sydney
| about the business. He tells me a few
years ago almost all the wool of Australia
was shipped direct by the squatters to Lon
| don, and there resold and reshipped. At
present the greater part of the product Is
sent to commission agents at the ports the
Sydney brokers shipping about 400. 900 bales
| annually. Mr.. Winchcombe and his part
ner sell about 5000, coo worth of wool
skins and other such things every year
| and their dealings with all parts of Eu-
rope. 1t used to be that Germany Bel
gium and France bought their wool from
Australia through London. Now each
country sends its own buyers and the most
of them deal directly with the commission
agents of Sydney.
| One-FOurth Cent a Pound
! 1t Is surprising how cheaply the wool can
be taken from Australia to London. There
are many lines of steamers and there are
fleets of sailing vessels engaged in the busi-
ness. Some of the steamers are of 10000
tons, one of which will carry as much as
| 10000 bales Some of the sailing vessels
| will take 2.000 bales, and the competition
| is so great that the freight rate Is now lust
| about one-fourth of cent per pound 1t
| takes less than four pounds of wool to
make a suit of clothes. and for a cent YOU
| can carry the wool for the suit from Aus
| tralia to London The sailing vessels Of
the wool fleet go around the Cape of Good
| Hope, while the steamers, as a rule travel
via the Suez canal. The shortest route is
| over 11,O0O miles, and the carrying of four
| pounds 1l.O00 miles for l cent is one of the
| wonders of modern civilization.
Inc prices of wool vary according to
| quality. The coarse wool will often bring
' n NH