8 The Financial Aspect of Sheep-washing, [april, 



Table I. — Year 1908. 



Breed, Age, and Sex of 

 Sheep. 



Washed or 

 Unwashed. 



Number 



of 

 Fleeces. 



Total 

 Lbs. of 

 Wool. 



Lbs. per 

 Fleece. 



Price 

 per lb. 



Value 



per 

 Fleece. 



Increased 

 Value per 

 Fleece for 

 Washing. 



Southdowns : Ewes 

 > > 

 Tegs 



Hampshires : Ewes 



Kents : Ewes 

 >> 



Exmoors : Ewes 



Scotch : 



Ewes and Tegs 

 j j 



Crossbreds : Ewes 



Washed . . . 

 Unwashed 

 Washed . . . 

 Unwashed 

 Washed... 

 Unwashed 

 Washed . . . 

 Unwashed 

 Washed... 

 Unwashed 



Washed... 

 Unwashed 

 Washed... 

 Unwashed 



2,114 

 2,048 

 521 

 1,648 

 58 

 431 

 520 

 89 

 25 

 325 



567 

 153 

 190 

 402 



8,833 

 IO,572 



2,834 

 1 1 , 200 

 320 



2,544 

 3,122 

 576 

 100 

 « 2,081 



3,312 



986 



979 

 3,061 



4- 17 



5- i6 

 5-43 

 679 

 5'Si 



5- 90 

 6'oo 



6'47 



4- 00 



6- 40 



5- 84 

 6*44 

 5-15 



7- 61 



d. 

 10*40 



7- 25 

 10-50 



6-69 



8- 50 

 6-29 



7*33 

 5-12 



IO'OO 



5-28 



575 

 4-25 

 8-12 

 4-82 



d. 

 43-36 

 374L 



57-01 

 45 '42 

 46-83 

 37-11 

 43-98 

 33-12 

 40*00 

 3379 



33-58 

 27-37 

 41-81 

 36-68 



d. 



} 5 '95 



} "'59 



} 972 



Vio-86 

 J 



} 6-21 



} 6-21 

 1 5 13 



Totals 







9,091 



50,520 











Average 

















7-8i 



The above figures show that by washing sheep before 

 shearing an increase of from 5cL to nj<i. per fleece was 

 obtained, or an average of 7fd. per fleece over the whole sale 

 of some 9,000 fleeces, representing over 50,000 lb. of wool. 

 In addition to the breeds above enumerated, wool from 

 Devons, Mashams, Suffolks, Cheviots, and Dorsets was also 

 on sale at Guildford, but in insufficient quantity to classify 

 it into washed and unwashed lots. The statistics given 

 are based on approximately 75 per cent, of the total wool 

 offered at this particular sale. The very high increased value 

 for washing, indicated by the figures shown above, suggested 

 that 1908 might have been an exceptional year, and bearing 

 in mind one of the commoner excuses for not washing sheep, 

 viz., " because it doesn't pay when wool is low in price,' ' it 

 was resolved to investigate prices made when wool was, 

 almost at its lowest in recent years, and for this purpose the 

 year 1901 was selected, although it was subsequently found 

 that during the following year — 1902 — wool touched its 

 lowest, being about \d. per lb. cheaper than in 1901. Again, 

 the figures for the year 1904 were also investigated, as in 

 that year prices ruled very similarly to those of the year 

 1908. 



