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 i\jiimal 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. 
