Evening star., 1914-06-05
WANT WOOL INDUSTRY
PUT ON A NEW BASIS
Sheep Growers Anxious Government
Should Establish Stand
ard Grades.

| If the sheep growers of the country
have their way the wool producing
| Industry in the United States will be
put on a new basis. The wool confer
ence just closed at the National Mu-
scum has addressed recommenda-
tion to the Secretary of Agriculture
asking that the wool industr' shall be
taken up by the federal government
and handled something or the same
| basis as the government is now ham
ding and fostering the cotton industry
The conference points out in its COM
munication that the country is depend
ing more and more upon the sheep IN
dustry, both for meat and for clothing.
1t says that as the price of meat in
creased and the supply decreased with
out any reduction in the demand, peo-
pie will be more and more compelled
to resort to mutton as source of table
meat. This. it says, will bring about
mutton, and will make source OF
profitable production for the farmer
who does not raise sheep.
Want Wool Grades Fixed.
The conference recommends establish
ing wool grades. just as the cotton grades
have been established by the govern
ment There are about thirty of the
commoner grades of wool in the Boston
markets. which is the greatest wool mar
ket Of the country. Altogether. however.
there are recognized in the trade fuliy
100 grades. The conference says the
brokers and mill men and few OF the
larger sheep raisers know the difference
between these grades. but the smaii
sheep raiser does not know, and appre-
ciates only that his wool brings him SO
much or so little after it gets to market.
The conference would have the govern
ment establish wool grades and Keep
standard samples of the grades as the
cotton standard samples are now kept.
1t is claimed that If this were done 1t
would encourage farmers to breed better
sheep and to keep more sheep, because
1t would be more profitable.
Two of the subjects treated extensive
ly at the conference yesterday were raw
ages on sheep by predatory animals ana
by domestic dogs In the farming states.
It was stated that the government
through the biological survey was doing
a great deal toward controlling the wild
animal pests in the west. Texas has
gone In very heavily for bounty paying
In the destruction of wolves. coyotes and
bears, and it was stated before the con-
ference that last year Texas expended
almost $4,000 in bounties and obtained
more than $4,000 animal scaips. me
records indicate that wild amman peSts
L
than in any of the other sheep-rais1ns
states.
Dog Menace Deters Farmers.
In the farming states the dog menace
deters a great many farmers from at
tempting to keep sheep at ALL The con-
ference recommended a campaign OF edu-
cation throughout the farming states and
the enactment of dog laws that would
tend to reduce this menace to the sheep
raising industry. ...
The conference recommends the estab-
lishment of several sheep-breeding farms
under the care of government experts,
probably one on the Pacific coast, one in
the east, one in the central states and
another in the south. 1t believes 1t pos
sible for the sheep-rafsing industry to be
fostered in this way much as the horse
breeding industry Is now fostered by the
government both in this country and in
Europe. 1t points out that the sheep
breeding stations would have the advan-
tage over the horse-breeding stations in
that they would be more profitable and
contribute more directly to the general
welfare of the country.