The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947, 1917-01-11
CONTRACTING WOOL
ON HIGHER BASIS
PRICES GOING UP, WHILE PRO.
EUCTION SHOWS BIC DE-
CREASE.

Wool prices at the beginning OF
1916 seemed on high level by
comparison. and wool merchants
were seriously questioning the wis
dom OF contracting wool on the
Sleeps back on basis OF 20 10 IS
cents. clean landed, Tor fine wool
Now. In the closing weeks Of 1915.
efforts are being made to contract
wools. which will be shorn next May
or June, at basis very close Go q
dollar pound. clean landed. Boston
Moreover. the outlook 8ocmF Co lus.
tify such q long gamble for Zine
woods are now selling at an advance
OF fully so per cent over the price
level of last January aud medium
woods have made almost as great uu
advance; our manufacturer are run.
ming their machinery NJ almost ~
high place as NJ any time IN the
past year and have orders ahead Tor
several months. on which. apparently
they have not fully covered, while
the supplies OF available raw materi-
al are more restricted than ever.
Thus the problem OF wool supplies
has become n matter OF grave con
oern and the wool merchant who
sells a lot OF wool today knows that
he can replace Il only with increas-
Ia "a
propaganda TO Increase sheep flocks
and thereby. wool production, has a
peculiar appeal AT the present time.
According 20 the census of 1900.
there were 81 million sheep in the
United States. valued at IFS million
dollars, with population OF hardly
so millions. The 1910 census showed
that the number OF sheep had de
creased to barely 81 v million head,
valued Gt 2lG million dollars, while
the population had increased 20 rl-
most g2 millions. la 1916. according
To the Governments estimate. there
were only 40 million sheep, valued
at 25t million dollars. with popula-
tion exceeding 100 millions Colncl-
dent with the decrease in sheep In
this country, other shep-raising coun-
tries have suffered more or less. not
ably Australia, where there was "a
decrease from 90 million head in
1911 To 90 million last season And
so, with the tremendous increase in
wool consumption due To the war
aud 10 prosperity in this country. the
extreme advances In price have been
merely a logical consequence. Fur
theTmore Il must he remembered
that sheep tlocks are not replaced
In single season. so that the likeli-
hood of high wool prices for sever
al years war or No war. is an eX-
IRENE probability, However, the
United States Department OF Agri-
culture is giving increasing atten-
tion to the problem of sheep hus-
bandry and says in the annual re-
port OF that department, just issued,
with reference TO the extension of
the industry; "In the United States
only one In seven farms of over 20
acres now supports sheep, with an
average Of one sheep OF shearing age
TO three acres of land, The 500 mill
lion pounds of wool now imported
annually could he secured from so
million sheep, and this number could
he added to our stock il fourth of
the remaining farms sustained one
sheep for each three acres"
Contracting for wool in the West
ON the Sleeps back still continues
in Utah, Nevada and Idaho, and
some has sold at 40 to As cents, ON
the basis of 81, clean, landed, Soda
Snrings L. maintained as onp of the