The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1916-01-27
WOOL DEMONSTRATION
CAR BEGINS TOUR.

CAR BEGINS TOUR.
New Plan to Stimulate Interest
Among Growers :. Production
of Higher Grades of Woods
and Better Heating.
Washington, D. CA wool de-
monstration car, under the charge
OF specialists of the United States
Department of Agriculture and Az
ricultural 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 it's
travels until we'll into the spring.
In addition to samples of the ,ari-
GUS grades of wool, six head of live
sheep are being carried in tht car in
order to show the various grades as
they appear on the sheep; for the
primary purpose of the tour is to
d1spel the common idea that wool is
wool and that care in the selection
of the breed and in the handling
and grading of clip and unneces-
sary and Improbable details. Today
1t is said, many American growers
do not realize that the market value
OF a fleece is determined by it's clean
or secured, not it's gross, weight and
by the character of the fiber Many
are quite unable to estimate with &C.
curacy the percentage of shrinkage
In their f1eeces and do not under
stand the bearing on their own prof
It's of the prices for various grades
of wool quoted on the large market.
Dealers, on the other hand, un-
derstand these things we'll. They
know that manufacturers are slow
to accept miscellaneous lots of wool,
but prefer certain grades for certain
purposes. The dealers do the nee
essary grading themselves, there
fore, but after they have purchased
the clip from the grower. The price
they offer the grower must, of
course. be sufficiently low to protect
them from loss on 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 encouragement
given the grower to improve the
breed of his sheep. The price he re-
ceives from year to year for his clip
may vary, but there is apparently
little connection between that vari-
alton and his own efforts.
For this reason the specialists who
are responsible for the tour OF the
demonstration car. believe that the
whole wool. industry would be great
ly benefited by inducing the grower
to grade his wool for himself. In
this way he not only would know
himself what he had to sell, but he
would be able to ascertain on what
grades he made the most profit anu
could breed accordingly Under ex-
listing circumstances It is not prob
able that the individual grower
could market his graded clip for a
total much. II any, larger than that
for which he now sells it ungraded.
but the additional knowledge that
the grading gives him would UNI
Questionably enable him to raise the
entire standard Of his product and
thus ultimately increase his profit
very considerably.
In Australia. the growers have
found 1t distinctly advantageous to
have the. grading done in the shear
ing shedsHaRd to sell graded wool.
The extra 66st, it has been found, is
more than Offset by the increase in
the market price of the properly
prepared product. In this country
also steps have been taken to test
the plan on a commercial scale, but
concerted action on the part of a
large number of influential flock
masters is regarded as necessary for
any radical change in the prevailing
practice OF marketing the wool on
= quantity instead of quality basis.
This is. say the specialists, no
reason why the individual grower
should not Grade his wool for his
own information and profit. Once
he has done this, he will see that
profits depend upon the character
as we'll as the number of fleeces and
he will turn his attention to their
betterment. 1t is generally admit
ted that Australian successes in
sheep breeding has been due in
large measure to the object lessons
afforded hv ho Iinr cl,o<1.