320 



OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 294 



stored, thus making it whiter after it is scoured. In talking with a 

 number of manufacturers who use both washed and unwashed wool, 

 the writer has never heard this assertion confirmed. On the con- 

 trary, one manufacturer who uses washed wool extensively is 

 authority for the statement that the washing of sheep in water of 

 the low temperature of that used for this purpose seems to 'set" the 

 dirt in the wool and to make it more difficult to remove in scouring. 

 All other things being equal, the prices paid by manufacturers 

 for different lots of grease wool are based upon the estimated 

 amount of scoured wool that will be yielded by each lot. When a 

 manufacturer pays a premium for washed wool, he does so, not be- 

 cause the washing has made the fiber more valuable, but merely 

 because he estimates that the washing has removed so much of the 

 foreign matter that the wool will shrink enough less in scouring to 

 enable him to pay the premium and still have .the wool cost him the 

 same per scoured pound as it would cost if it had not been washed. 

 In other words, the manufacturer attempts to buy washed and un- 

 washed wool at the same price per pound on a scoured wool basis. 

 Table V shows the corresponding prices the manufacturer could 

 have afforded to pay for the washed wool produced in this experi- 

 ment with unwashed wool worth the prices indicated, and have each 

 class of wool cost him the same on a scoured wool basis. Table V 

 is computed from the average yield of scoured wool from each lot 

 for the years 1912 and 1913, as shown in Table IV. Since not all 

 wool, whether washed or unwashed, will shrink the same as that 

 from the sheep used in this experiment, Table V should not be ex- 

 pected to show the exact relationship between the values of washed 

 and unwashed wool that exists in all cases. 



TABLE V COMPARATIVE VALUES OF WASHED AND UNWASHED 



WOOL (cents) 



