304 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



Production of fleece wool in leading states in 1922 



Average Wool Per cent Scoured 



Number of weight product, of wool 



State fleeces per fleece raw shrinkage Pounds 



^ Pounds Pounds 



1. Wyoming 2,812,000 8.0 22,500,000 65 7,875,000 



2. Texas 2,681,000 7.2 19,300,000 65 6,755,000 



3. Ohio 1,837,000 7.4 13,596,000 53 6,390,000 



4. Montana 1,927,000 8.0 15,416,000 61 6,012,000 



5. Idaho 1,923,000 7.8 15,000,000 60 6,000,000 



6. Utah 2,160,000 7.4 15,984,000 63 5,914,000 



7. California 1,950,000 6.9 13,455,000 64 4,844,000 



8. Oregon 1,732,000 7.5 12,992,000 65 4,547,000 



9. Michigan 1,078,000 7.3 7,868,000 50 3,934,000 



10. New Mexico 1,600,000 6.0 9,600,000 65 3,360,000 



United States 30,947,000 7.1 219,095,000 59 89,829,000 



Pulled wool 42,000,000 30 29,400,000 



Total United States 261,095,000 119,229,000 



Total World 2,704,047,7891 



» Based on latest available figures compiled by National Association of Wool Manufacturers and 

 published in Annual Wool Review for 1922, p. 255. 



This table brings out some important distinctions in wools. The 

 figures for shrink are interesting; the western states exceed the eastern 

 states by 7 to 15 per cent, due mostly to the greater percentage of 

 Merino blood in range flocks and hence a more greasy wool with a 

 greater shrink. Western wools also contain more sand and dirt. The 

 introduction of mutton sheep into the corn belt has decreased the 

 average weight of fleece, but has improved the shrinkage. The entire 

 clip of the United States in 1922 was estimated to shrink 59 per cent. 

 Wool buyers fix the price on a scoured basis, this being the fairest 

 method of dealing and also the fairest basis on which to compare pro- 

 duction by states. Wyoming produced the most fleeces in 1922, and 

 Delaware the fewest. Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska had the 

 highest average weight of fleece, which was 8 pounds, and Georgia 

 was lowest with 2.9 pounds. Virginia, with 38 per cent, had the 

 lowest shrinkage, and Washington, with 67 per cent, had the highest 

 shrinkage. 



Imports and exports of wool. — During the year 1920 the United 

 States imported 254,905,000 pounds of wool valued at $124,399,000. 

 The average value per pound was 48.8 cents. We export less than a 

 million pounds of our wool annually. American wool growers produce 

 slightly less than one-half of the wool used by American wool manufac- 

 turers. Australia is the largest exporter of wool, the flgure for the year 

 1919 being 680,769,000 pounds; Argentina ranked second with 

 339,208,000 pounds; New Zealand was third with 274,247,000 pounds; 

 South Africa was fourth with 202,039,000 pounds; and Uruguay was 

 fifth with 141,330,000 pounds. These five countries furnish over 85 

 per cent of the exports of the world. The principal importing and 

 wool-manufacturing countries are France, Great Britain, United States, 



