EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 211 



Answer by No. 9. — Of late years we see no paint marks on sheep raised east of the 

 Mississippi which are objectionable. 



Question Xo. 11.— In shearini?, a novice often makes second cnttin^^s; could you 

 give anything' like an approximate estimate of the per cent of fleeces injured by 

 improper shearing! 



Answers by Nos. 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9. — It is impossible to give the percentage of fleeces 

 injured by improper shearing. 



Answers by Nos. 3 and 4. — No. 



Answer by No. 5. — It (the short clips) is not worth much; cannot give estimate. 



Answer by No. 7. — The second cuttings you speak of as an incident of green hands 

 shearing is an infinitesimal amount. 



Question No. 12.— In your judgment what grade or grades of wool are likely to 

 return to the producer the best profits in the next few years? 



Answer by No. 1. — It is almost impossible to definitely form an opinion as to the 

 grades of wool which are likely to return to the producer the best profits in the next 

 few years, as everything depends upon fashions in woolen goods, and no one can deter- 

 mine in what direction they will lean. 



Answer by No. 2. — This is a difficult question to answer, as the grades used depend 

 upon the fashion. Manufacturers make siich goods as they can sell, and buy wools 

 which are essential to the making of such goods. 



Answer by No. 3. — Fine wool will profit the grower, but medium wool is more 

 profitable. 



Answer by No. 4. — Varies with each season's fashion. 



Answer by No. 5. — If I knew I would buy all that kind. 



Answer by No. 6. — The grades known as "1-4 and Medium" in our judgment are 

 those most likely to be in demand and to command higher prices within the next 

 year or two. 



Answer by No. 7. — To your question as to our opinion as to the grade of wool that 

 will pay the producer the next few years, we would say that the producer is the best 

 judge of that, as the value of the mutton carcass enters largely into the profit of sheep 

 industry. 



Answer by No. 8. — In all wool growing sections of the world it has become apparent 

 in recent years that wool could not be raised for the fleece alone with profit. In South 

 America the breeding of mutton sheep has increftsed until now about 70 per cent 

 of the clip which formerly was all Merino, is all English or cross-bred wool. Practi- 

 cally the whole of the New Zealand clip is from English or cross-bred sheep, and the 

 increase of mutton sheep is growing in other parts of Australia. The duty may give 

 the growers of Merino wools here for a while an opportunity to produce wool profitably, 

 particularly in view of the decrease in the production of Australia and South America, 

 but we think eventually it will be found that the wool grower will have to market the 

 carcass as well as the fleece, and that mutton sheep, with a long stapled fleece, as fine 

 as possible, will prove the most profitable to raise, say from 1-2 to 3-8 grade. 



Answer by No. 9. — Impossible for us to give an opinion. 



Answer by No. 10. — In a general way Michigan wool is undesirable because, partly 

 from carelessness and partly from intent, the wool is not carefully bred, is not properly 

 skirted, is tied with the heaviest and worst twine possible, and is very apt to be filled 

 with chaff" and seed. The paint you speak of is a decided objection, but is not a 

 peculiarity of Michigan, but pertains to most wools. 



Washing the sheep, unless done much more carefully that has ever been done in 

 your State, is a half-way measure at best, and for that reason we think it would be 

 wiser to have it all marketed unwashed. 



The box method of packing is undesirable. The fleece, after being properly freed 

 from tags, bad skirts, and undesirable matter of all kinds, should be lightly folded 

 and tied with as light twine and as little of it as is possible. In our judgment the 

 amount of twine used should not cover one-fifth or one-tenth part of what is commonly 

 used. Sisal twine should be absolutely prohibited. It actually injures the value of 

 the whole fleece. 



The following firms are the ones who were kind enough to answer the above questions. 

 For convenience we have designated their answers by number: 



No. 1. Fenno Brothers &; Cliilds, 562 Atlantic ave.. Boston, Mass. 



No. 2. Hecht, Liebmann & Co., 211-217 Federal st., Boston, Mass. 



No. 3. Jeremiah Williams & Co., 105 Federal st., Boston, Mass. 



No. 4. Hallowell, Donald & Co., 556 Atlantic ave.. Boston, Mass. 



No. 5. East Weymouth Scouring Mill, East Weymouth, Mass. 



