EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 223 



market. The sides of the table or box fold up similar to the old style box, but in the 

 center a broad leather strap is so arranged that when brought over the fleece it rolls 

 it into a compact bundle. 



We consider ourselves very fortunate in being able to give our readers the benefit 

 of the following letter from J. B. Jones, Montpelier, Ohio. 



'"With a desire to correct errors in wool handling, I hand you part of a Boston letter 

 of the 14th inst." 



Figure No. 8. 



The following is an extract of the letter referred to. It is from one of the leading 

 wool commission houses in Boston: 



" "We finished grading your wool last week and find it to be a very good lot, running 

 largely to 1-2 and 3-8 unwashed, good stapled and bright colored. We shall certainly 

 do our best to realize for you extreme outside prices for this wool, but regret to say 

 that we cannot sell it for Ohio, as most of it has been put up in boxes, and, as you well 

 know, these box fleeces are one of the characteristics of INIichigan wool. We think 

 it would be well for you to notify farmers in your neighborhood not to use the box when 

 tying up their fleeces, but wrap them up lightly and put two or three twines aroimd 

 them. This is sufficient to hold them and the fleeces handle much lighter and look 

 very much more like Western Reserve, Ohio wools.' 



"Of live tliousand six hundred pounds of washed wool shipped from Camden, Mich., 

 'this year, eight grades were made. The extremes in value ten cents per pound. Of 

 twenty-eight thousand pounds unwashed, ten grades: extremes in value, nine cents per 

 pound ; these g;ades, exclusive of tags, sold outside of fleeces. They put the X and 

 above washed at five cents per pound below same grade of Ohio^though part of it 

 was bought in Ohio and all of it equal in quality to average Ohio, in my judgment, 

 based on forty years of wool shipping, mostly from Ohio. That Michigan wool sells 

 below its real value because of improper and dishonest preparation is well knox^ii 

 among dealers. It ought not to be so, now that grades are greatly improved and 

 many producers arc seeking for best methods of handling. But too many continue 

 to tie in a square box with five to seven strings each way, or three to four ounces of 

 twine to the fleece, so tight that it handles more like a cheese than a fleece of wool, 

 and no man can know what is inside until the string is cut, revealing often unwashed 

 tags in a washed fleece and one to two pounds of tags containing two ounces of wool, 

 clipping of hoofs, lambs' tails, etc.. in unwashed fleeces: it will require time to 

 remove tlie proj\idice against ^lichigan wool. If growers will conform to tlie demands 

 of the market, adopt the round box with one ounce of twine to the fleece, throw their 

 tags on the compost heap, or sell for what they will bring, in a few years ^Michigan 

 wool will be in demand at much better prices. 



