Maroh, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



109 



although Canada had laid the foundations of a 

 woolen manufacturing industry, a very small pro- 

 portion of Canadian mills used Canadian grown 

 wools and few of the i)e()i)le were willinir to wear 

 woolen goods made from the wool of Canadian sheep. 



One of the main reasons for the success of this 

 enterprise was that it grew from the ground up 

 rather than from the head do'wxi. Owing to the fact 

 that in tlie ups and downs of the Canadian live stoek 

 industry the sheep was carried largely as a side line 

 in the early days to provide wool for the homespuns 

 and latterly to destroy weeds, clean up waste land 

 and provide pocket money for the farmer and his wife. 

 Farmers in the main paid little attention to wool 

 improvement or preparation for market and mar- 

 kets. The result was that Canadian wools were 

 classed among the i)oorest in the world and brought 

 the lowest price. 



From 1910 to 1913 a new interest developed in 

 sheep raising, owing to a gradual increase in the 

 price of lambs and a slight increase in the value of 

 wool. Farmers, however, were not satisfied with 

 prices obtained, and when in 1913 the Live Stock 

 Branch employed a wool grader for the first time 

 there was a ready response by the organization of 

 several local associations and a few thousand pounds 

 (if wool were graded and sold co-operatively. Tlie 

 results were so satisfactory that in a year or two 



Wool Growers" Associations were operating in every 

 Pi'ovince of the Dominion. Provincial Departments 

 of Agriculture, Agricultural Hepi-esentatives and 

 Agricultural Colleges, as well as the Dominion De- 

 partment of Agriculture rendered assistance in the 

 extension and consolidation of these local associa- 

 tions. Wool dealers were keen competitors of the 

 local associations, but invariably the association won 

 out in price, although operating expenses were of 

 necessity kept veiy low. The competition of the 

 wool trade generally developed a keen business ag- 

 gressiveness on the part of the executive of the 

 various local organizations, besides creating a spirit 

 of loyalty on the part of their members. 



in 1918 there were some thirty wool growers' asso- 

 ciations operating throughout the Dominion, nearly 

 all having had several years of selling experience. 

 The advantages of grading and co-operative sale now 

 went without question. However, some of the asso- 

 ciations were far removed from their natural mar- 

 kets and others felt keenly the competitive strain 

 of the old trade agencies. By this time a vast im- 

 provement had been effected in the wool qualities 

 of the various provinces, both by breeding and by 

 preparation for market. The time seemed opportune 

 for organization on a national basis, and in Febru- 

 ary of 1918 a conference of representatives from all 

 the associations was called for this purpose, result- 



Field Demon.stmtion fur TVui.l luipi "Vonient. 



