Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1905-04-18
All Conditions Point to one of the
Most Successful Seasons Ever
Seen in the Basin.
OUTLOOK FOR THE LOCAL MARKET
Many of the Largest Wo0Igrowers in
the County Will Bring Their
Clips to This City.

If present conditions prevail through
out the remainder of the season,
the year 1905 will be the banner sea-
son for the wool growers of Fergus
county. With favorable weather con-
ditions, there will not be woolgrow-
er in the entire county who will not
nave something substantial to show
for his years work.
Already there are a great many
sheepmen who are ahead Of the game
through their lamb sales alone.
Messrs. Thompson and Railsback,
sheep buyers from Billings have been
in the county for several weeks past
and have about cleaned up all Of the
surplus lambs and other sheep. And
what is more to the advantage Of the
WoolgroWer, they have been paying
top prices for what they have pur-
chased. 1t is stated that over twen-
ty thousand sheep have been sold by
the woolgrowers in the Stanford, Utica
and PhilbroOk sections of the county
at an average Of $3 q head. Several
thousand were sold at 1926 a head.
This means the distribution of from
100000 to $4,000 among the stockmen
of that part of the county and insures
easier times among all classes in that
end of the county.
Lambing will be in full operation
| Uni h in, fovu ho
of this important part of the industry
depends largely upon climatic condi-
tions. \ large number of the WOOL
growers of Fergus county are not new
so much at the mercy of the elements
as in former days or even in other
parts Of the state at the present time,
as they have, generally speaking, suffi-
cient hay and sheds to protect their
ewes and lambs from any ordinary
storm. Sufficient moisture has fallen
during the last two weeks to insure
good green grass just as soon as the
sun shines warm and bright for a
week or ten days. If the lambing
season is successful, the main troubles
of the Woolgrower will have passed.
1t is the very general impression
that the wool situation will take care
of itself. Seldom in the history of
the woolgrowing industry in this
state has the competition for wool
been SO keen among the various big
wool purchasing firms. Commencing
with the very close of the season last
year, the wool houses have had their
men in the west contracting for the
unshorn clips at prices from two to
three cents higher than were paid
last season. Millions of pounds of
wool in Montana have been SO con-
tracted.
There has been but little OF this
sort of buying done in Fergus county
but it is probable that there will be
some scrambling over some of the
choice clips here long before the wool
is taken from the backs of the sheep.
Jack" Patterson, buyer for jeremiah
| Williams & Co., arrived in the city
follow. Taken altogether, the best
wool in Montana is raised in Fergus
county. 1t is always light and clean
but this year it promises to be of es-
pecially fine quality owing to the dry,
open winter. All woolgrowers to
whom the Democrat representative
has talked, express the belief that the
average price in this county will be
twenty cents a pound. Some of the
conservative ones predict that twen
ty-five cents pound will be paid rof
wool on the local maIkel before the
season is far advanced.
Prospects are exceedingly bright
for splendid wool market in this
city the coming season. Last year
there were two million pounds
handled from this point but it is con-
seryatively estimated that there will
be from three million to four million
pounds shipped from Lewistewn next
fall. During the last month, the
managers of several large outfits
have been in the city talking with
our merchants over the price of sup
plies. Three or four of them have
Informed the Democrat that the
prices are entirely satisfactory and