The Glasgow courier., 1916-01-28
WOOL DEMONSTRATION
CAR BEGINS TOUR

Washington, D. c., Jan. 26.-A wool
demonstration car, under the charge
Of specialists of the United States
department Of agriculture and the
agricultural colleges of the states con-
cerned, is now touring Montana,
Idaho, Wyoming and Utah to show
growers that in the end better wool
means more money. The car left
Livingston, Montana, on January 10
and is expected to continue its trav-
els until we'll into the spring.
In addition to samples of the vari-
GUS grades of wool, six head of live
sheep are being carried in the car in
order to show the various grades as
they appear on the sheep; for the pri-
mary purpose the tour is to dispel the
common idea that wool is wool and
that care in the selection of the breed
and in the handling and grading of
of the clip are unnecessary and un-
profitable details. Today, it is said,
many American growers do not rea-
lize that the market value of fleece
is determined by its clean or secured
NOT it's pross-weieht and by the
character Of the fiber. Many are
quite unable to estimate with accur-
acy the percentage of shrinkage in
their fleeces and do not understand
the BEARING on their own profits of
the prices for various grades of wool
quoted on the large markets.
Dealers, on the other hand, under
stand these things well. They know
that manufacturers are slow to accept
miscellaneous lots of wool, but prefer
certain grades for certain purposes
The dealers do the necessary grad
ing themselves. therefore, but after
they have purchased the clip from the
grower. The price they offer the
grower, must, of course, be sufficient
ly low to protect them from loss or
account of low-grade wool, and there
is tendency to base it on the value
Of this low-grade wool altogether
Under this system there is little en-
couragement given the grower to i'm
prove the breed Of his sheep. Th'
price he receives from year to yea
for his clip may vary, but there is ap
parently little connection between
that variation and his own efforts.
For this reason the specialists VIII
are responsible for the tour of tn
demonstration car believe that tn
whole wool industry would be greatl
benefited by inducing the grower t
grade his wool for himself. In thi
way he not only would know himsel
what he had to sell, but he would b
able to ascertain on what grades h
made the most profit and could bree
accordingly. Under existing circun
stances it is not probable that the ir
dividual grower could market hi
graded clip for total much, if an,
larger than that for which he no
sells it ungraded, but the additions
knowledge that the grading gives hi
would unquestionably enable him
raise the entire standard of his prot
uct and thus ultimately increase h
profit very considerably.
In Australia the growers hay
found it distinctly advantageous
have the grading done in the shea
ing sheds and to sell graded woo
The extra cost, it has been found,
more than offset by the increase
the market price of the properly pr
pared product. In this country al
steps have been taken to test Il
plan on a commercial scale, but CO
certed action on the part of a larl
number of influential flock maste
is regarded as necessary for any rae
cal change in the prevailing practi