United States Meat Industry. 



387 



No particulars are given as to the countries of origin of the 

 imports of wool entered for consumption, but such information 

 is available in the case of the total imports of wool, whether 

 entered for consumption or not. The total quantity of wool 

 received in the United States in 1900 amounted to 153,000,000 

 lb., as compared with 103,000,000 in 1890. The wools are 

 classified in three qualities in the returns, Classes I. and II. 

 being those employed in the general wool manufacture, while 

 Class III. are coarse w r ools used principally in the manufacture 

 of carpets. Mohair and alpaca are included in the Class II. 

 wools, and camel's hair is divided between Classes II. and III., 

 according to the quality. 



Nearly 106,000,000 lb., or 69 per cent., of the wools imported 

 in 1900 were classed as third quality. Of this total China sent 

 3 1,000,000 lb., European Russia 13,000,000 lb., and the United.. 

 Kingdom 12,000,000 lb., India and Argentina being the next 

 important contributors with 9,396,000 lb. and 8,951,000 lb. 

 respectively. The wools of Class I. come most directly into 

 competition with the wools of domestic production, the quantity 

 imported in 1900 being 37,000,000 lb., or more than double the 

 quantity received in 1890. For many years American importa- 

 tions of such wools have been mostly of Australasian growth, and 

 in 1900 nearly 23,000,000 lb. of first grade wools were received 

 from this source. In recent years, however, large quantities 

 have also come from the Argentine Republic, which sent 

 11,000,000 lb. in 1900, as against only 168,000 in 1890. 



In the imports of Class II. wools, the returns show but little 

 change since 1890, the total quantity imported in 1900 being 

 9,885,000 lb., or only 2,226,000 lb in excess of the importa- 

 tions in the former year. The United Kingdom was the chief 

 source of supply, furnishing 7,805,000 lb, of the total, as 

 compared with 6,897,000 lb. in 1890. 



The Meat Industry in the United States. 

 In earlier numbers of this Journal* an account has been given 

 of the prospects of the cattle industry in the United States 



* Vol. III., December, 1S96, p. 257, and Vol, V., December, 1S9S, p. 343. 



I) D 2 



