Year: 1866

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Putting up Wool.


At the Syracuse Wool Conference, the
question of putting up wool, and the
one-third shrinkage rule being under dis
cussion, Mr.. Kingsbury, manufacturer
of Connecticut, said:


Imust confess that l was not aequaint-
ed with the fact that there was any dis
satisfaction with the one-third rule, until
within a short time-three months ago
perhaps. As a manufacturer, purchas
ing wool for the last thirty years, have
made no arbitrary rule of that kind. 1t
has been our custom, when purchasing a
lot of wool containing perhaps fifteen,
twenty, or thirty thousand pounds, if
there were a few heeces unWashed, to
throw them out in a pile, and for the
producer to say 4 want you to take that
little of one hundred or two hundred
pounds of unwashed wool, with the 9th
err Very we'll; you may put it IN and
the suggestion has almost always come
from the seller, 4 will put it in one-third
less.' l know not how rule of this
kind originated, nor do 1 know how ex-
tensiveiy it has been practised. The
Chairman has said that il is practiced,
and of course I do not doubt his word on
that subject. If it originated with the
manufacturer, think it must have been
in this wise: Many years ago, when 1t
was customary for washed wool to shrink
from thirty to thirty-three per cent. un-
washed wool, at one-third off, would aver
age about the same price as washed wool.
That was very fair statement of the diff
ference between washed and unwashed
wool. l am not aware, however, thatany
rule like this originated from that course.
But do know this, that in purchasing
wool of late years, the manufacturer
cry has been, How much clean wool can
l getP afa.- ......t


| think that question is much more
frequently put now, than it was a few
years ago, because, when manufacturing
commented in this country, and we were
struggling along, we did not keep our ac-
counts as accurately as we keep them
now. We did not go into all the details
and statistics of the manufacturer as we
do now. 1t has now become complete
system, to every detail of which we give
great attention: so much SO, that we are
able to tell you in many of our manufac-
turing establishments, precisely the
shrinking on every single lot of wool
which we purchase, be it washed or un-
washed. We are able to tell you precise
ly how much clean wool it has taken to
make yard of goods; and how much
wool, as it was purchased, in its washed
or unwashed state. All the details of the
business are followed out very closely at
the present time. Sd


Now, have often purchased unwashed
wool, and | have always (except in the
cases to which have referred, where 1
bought little parcel of unwashed wool
with a lot of washed wooD paid for that
wool what it was worth, in my judgment.
have estimated in my own mind the
shrinkage of that wool, or the amount of
clean wool it would produce, to see how
much it was worth, compared with washed
wool. l admit that at present there is a
great difference in the shrinkage of what
is called washed wool-a very great differ
ence from what there was twenty or
twenty five years ago. l know that some
years our wool has shrunk not less than
forty or forty-four and half per cent
making a proper allowance for the un-
washed wool which may have been pur-
chased, so as to bring it exactly in COM
parison with the other. If we were now
to go into the purchase of unwashed
wool, making, in all cases, deduction of
one-third, 1 admit that the unwashed
wool would be cheaper than the washed
wool. When Ispeak of washed WOOL I
speak of wool which is called washed,
but which really is not washed wool J.
So far as l am concerned, think should
be entirely satisfied to have all the wool
of this country sheared in an unwashed
state, and brought to market / would
like however, to have some little improve
ment made in the manner of doing up
the wool. l presume to say, that this in
telligent body. of wool growers do not
know-they certainly cannot know-the
damage they do to every fleece of wool
which they tie up with hemp twine. l
tell you it is utterly impossible to manu-
facture piece Of indigo blue cloth from
wool which we purchase of you tied up
in twine or in hemp string. We cannot
do it without using another dye besides
the indigo blue, and to cover up the i'm
perfections occasioned by those strings.
We cannot make piece of bright, hand
some, black broadcloth, out of wool done
up in your hemp strings. There should
u6fCI OC OnC VI VI
any other kind of string from which a
fibre can come, put round a fleece of
wool 1t is ruinous, and will become ev-
en- more and more so, as the manufactu-
rers go more and more into the manufac-
ture of fabrics of plain colors,, which re-
quIre even handsome finish. r.


A Delegate-What would you suggest ?


M. Kingsbury-If tied up with any
string it should always be a wooden string,
and the string should compare somewhat
in fineness with the fineness of the wool.


ADelegate-In sacking the wool, would
it not be necessary to use wooden sacking?


Mr.. Kingsbury-We receive damage
from the sacking, as well as from the
strings, but not to the same extent.
think we could get along with the 6bres
which come off the hemp sacking, al
though we have considered a smooth cot
ton sacking much better than hemp sack
ing. In regard to the strings, hope we
shall, in very few years, create public
sentiment SO strong, that not soul of
you will be able to sell a fleece of wool
tied up with hemp strings. 3D.


Then there is another thing which
want to say in regard to this matter of
string. l believe there is a gentleman
here who took off from one single fleece
seven ounces of string! When we have
sorted lot of wool, we always find a
great pile of string, for which we have
paid from sixty-six up to seventy-five and
eighty cents a pound. We are able to
sell it for about three or four cents a
pound, so that it is nearly a dead loss to
US. In Germany, believe no string is
ever put on the wool. That is, I have
never seen any wool imported from Ger
many that had strings round it.


A Funeral In Mexico.