24 'ULLETIN 206, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



POUNDS OF WOOL PER POUND OF CLOTH. 



Some printed statements convey the impression that the entire 

 fleece goes into the production of a garment, so that the amount of 

 finished cloth is equal to the amount of scoured wool. This impres- 

 sion is erroneous, not only because of a certain amount of wool of 

 other sorts than the main ones being present, but also because there is 

 more or less loss all the way along the process of manufacture. True, 

 these other sorts are of value, but they are not generally worth nearly 

 as much as the main lot. 



As the. weight per yard of goods varies, it is not feasible to give 

 the amount of wool required to manufacture a garment, suit, or so 

 many yards of cloth, but the pounds of wool per pound of cloth can 

 be given. A number of tests reported by different mills and pub- 

 lished in the bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufac- 

 turers show that for woolen goods from 3 pounds to 4.64 pounds of 

 grease wool, with an average of 3.73 pounds, were required to make 1 

 pound of cloth. The average amount of scoured wool required was 

 1.37 pounds. For worsted cloths from 2.56 pounds to 4.55 pounds 

 of grease wool was required, with an average of 3.66 pounds. The 

 average amount of scoured wool for 1 pound of worsted cloth was 

 1.55 pounds. 



THE NEED OF IMPROVEMENT IN HANDLING AMERICAN WOOLS. 



From the discussion in the foregoing pages it can readily be seen 

 that dealers and manufacturers confront many difficulties in handling 

 the average clip of American wool. 



PRESENT CONDITIONS. 



In October, 1913, the Animal Husbandry Division of the Bureau 

 of Animal Industry, in cooperation with the Bureau of Crop Esti- 

 mates, made a canvass of a number of sheep owners in Western 

 States to determine the extent to which growers follow the best 

 practices. Because of the way in which the names were secured 

 it is probable that the 383 replies received were from men whose 

 methods are superior to those generally followed in the same local- 

 ities; consequently the percentages shown at the foot of the table 

 are much higher than would be reported if it had been possible to 

 receive replies from all wool growers in the States shown. The 

 results of this canvass are shown in Table 4. 



