SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 575 



The first answer of the other rnaiiufiU'tuier, S. Newton Dexter, Esq. of 

 Whitestown, Oneiila Co., N, Y., (head of the Oriskany Manufacturing 

 Company,) it is not necessary to traiiscrihe entire. Mr. Dexter informed 

 me that his machinery is calcuhited for tlie manufactui'e of fine cloth ; that 

 the cartliiig of coarse wool would injure his cards; that its manufacture 

 would throw him out of his regular course of business ; that he had no 

 wool of the quality used in the sample on hand ; tliat he should be com- 

 pelled to use domestic wool ; and that for these reasons and some others 

 named by him, he could not undertake to fill the contract at less than 42 

 cents per yard — which he knew would be considered a high price. 



Mr. Dexter being a gentleman etpially distinguished for his coiTect and 

 able bnsiness character, and for that capacity and range of information 

 which give value to his opinions on all the topics coiniected with this in- 

 vestigation, I addressed him a second communication, asking him what he 

 could manufacture the cloth for, giving him time to procure stock of the 

 same quality used in the sample. I also inclosed him proof-sheets of the 

 preceding part of this letter, asking him his opinion of the correctness of 

 my statements, in relation to the g('neral cost of maimfacturing, &c. The 

 following extracts from his reply will be read with interest : 



Col. Hknrv S. Randall : Wjiitestown, April 24, 1847. 



Dear Sir: Yours reached me on Wednesday. There is no doubt at all but what if I felt cer- 

 tain that wool could bo procured of the quality of which your Kaniple was made, at a price pro- 

 portionably low, 1 could have aflbrded to have manufactured the cloth at 37 cents per yard, as 



well as at 42, and use our coarse native wool, at a proi)able cost of 25 cents There has been 



an advance of more than 70 per cent, in the price of lard oil. Th<! price a short time since was 

 .•JS cents. The last I bought cost 95 cents in New-York. Five quarts of this oil are wanted to 



every 80 yards of these cloths I cannot imagine where the wool was from out of which the 



sample was made, probably from Iceland — for I recollect some twenty years ago the Oriskany 

 Manufacturing Company obtained ju.st such wool somewhere, when American wool was deemed 

 too high, and manufactured it into miserable satinets, by which they lost a great deal of niouej'. 

 The wool was said to have been imported from Iceland. I was one of the Directors of the mill 



then, but had nothing to do with " operating "it 



You request my oi)inion as to the correctness of your statements of the probable cost of Wel.'^b 

 plains, &c., and generally of the statements put forth by you on the subject of woollen manufac- 

 tories. I am not reri/ "-ood authority as to the cost of manufacturing coarse woolens, never hav- 

 ing done much in that way. I am free to say, liowever, that your estimates may generally be 

 relied on. Certainly you have allowed liberally for what would have been the cost of such wool 

 by the pound last year ; but I think your estimate of 17 J oz. of wool in the fleece, out of which to 

 manufacture one yard of cloth 32 inches wide, similar to the sample inclo.sed in your letter, too 

 low. I should think it would certainly take 20 oz., or I5 pounds. The allowance of 11 cents for 

 manufacturing will, I am inclined to think, pay charges, but it will not aflbrd any profit, nor in- 

 terest on capital, nor leave anything for keeping machinery in repair. It is a very close calcula- 

 tion, when fuller's soaji, lard oil, ifcc., are so high. 



The sheep's gray cloths that you speak of, you will obseiT^e, are generally not quite J wide — 

 say 20 inches — while the sample you sent me was 32 inches. One pound of well wa.shed fleece 

 wool win make a yard of sheep's giay of medium quality ; but unless the goods a.vo Jiocked, the 

 calculation is a very clo.sc one indeed. 



I am inclined to think that you overestimate the profit of manufacturing woolen goods, although 

 I admit that in well managed institutions, that have the most imjiroved machinery, with an abun- 

 dant capital, the profits have, at times, been very large indeed, and our friend Samuel Law- 

 rence, of whom you speak, is the most prominent example of such a manufacturer within my 



knowledge Every new manufactory erected, if built with judgment, has one advantage 



over those already in operation, and that is, they have availed themselves of all the improvements 

 of those in operation. And as machinery is constantly being produced at cheaper rates, a factory 



of increased capacity will probably have cost less money 



The Oriskany Manufacturing Company is the oldest company now^ manufacturing woolen 

 goods in the United States. They have made satinets which have sold readily atS.'? 50 per yard, 

 and have made cloths which have as readily sold for $12 per j-ard. Satinets full as good can 

 now be bought at 75 cents, and hand.somer, if not better cloth.s, for $3. What a change is here ! 

 And yet the Oriskany Manufacturing Company was perhaps never doing better than now. This 

 Company availed itself of the opportunities oH'cred last year to obtain \a()o1 very low, to purchase 

 a supply for nearly two years. This year the business will be good, that is, pay a profit of 10 per 

 cent, on investments, even where wool is purchased at current rates ; but I do not believe it will 

 pay more. I will furnish you with a brief estimate : 



(1145) 



