876 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



done. If the growers of several counties would unite and bunch their 

 wool at some one central point they would in time develop quite a local 

 market and realize much better prices. 



The Kansas fleeces are heavy, and the average shrinkage in scouring 

 is about 65 per cent. The usual weight for fine wool is from 6 to 12 

 pounds, and in some flocks even more. The medium wool usually runs 

 from about 5 to 8 pounds per fleece. The average for the State for fine 

 is 7 J, and for medium about 6 J. The class of wool produced in the State 

 consists mainly of the fine and medium grades. There are now some 

 combing and delaine wools grown. This grade of wool is increasing 

 every year, as also the medium grades, which will eventually comprise 

 the bulk of the clip of the State. The prices realized by the growers 

 last season for the various grades were from 12 to 22 cents. The cost 

 of marketing is about 2 cents per pound when sent to western markets. 

 One of the chief drawbacks to the sheep industry is the difiElculty en- 

 countered in marketing wool. Some growers are careless in preparing 

 it for market, and many individual clips are in bad condition and heavy 

 with dirt. The result is that Kansas grades in the wool market quota- 

 tions are usually lower than similar grades from other States. Many 

 growers think that there exists a combination between the manufactur- 

 ers and the wool-dealers and commission merchants which keeps wool 

 below its actual value and practically prevents competition. In most 

 parts of Kansas the amount of wool is too small to attract buyers from 

 a distance, so that the sheep-owners must either sell to the local buyer, 

 who knows very little of the merits of wool or the different grades, or 

 consign his wool to commission merchants, taking the risks of getting 

 adequate or satisfactory returns. Formerly the bulk of the consign- 

 ments from Kansas went to Eastern markets, but as it usually required 

 from two to ten months before final returns were received, the consign- 

 ments now mainly go to St. Louis and Chicago. 



High freight rates are a serious difficulty. For instance, the rate on 

 a car of wool from Butler County to St. Louis is about $180, while the 

 rate for a car of live stock is only $3G. The rate for wool is about four 

 times as high as the rate for wheat. A brief summary of the chief 

 difiQculties and objections encountered in the disposition of the wool 

 crop as enumerated by the sheep-owners are as follows: Exorbitant 

 freight rates; want of home buyers; unjust rating of Kansas grades in 

 market; unreliable commission merchants; too many middlemen be- 

 tween wool producer and manufacturer at the expense of the growers. 

 Sheep-owners annually dispose of a certain proportion of their flocks 

 either as muttons or stockers, and the average sales constitute from 20 

 to 30 per cent of the flock, usually about one-half of the yearly increase. 

 The ewes are generally sold to farmers who wish to start in the busi- 

 ness, and the prices paid after shearing is from $2.25 to $4 per head. 

 The bulk of the sales are mature wethers and sometimes the ram lambs. 

 When the flocks are small they are readily taken by the local butchers 



