Sheejj Washing. 
155 
Though I did not see the correspondence alluded to by Mr. Fox, 
I referred, on receipt of his letter, to my remarks and valuations 
made at the time in my catalogue. I find that I valued the washed 
wool at 10c7. per lb., describing it as clean, and shrinkage about 15 per 
cent. His unwashed I described as good but sappy, valued it at 
7 |<7. per lb., and estimated the shrinkage at about 40 per cent. So 
that if the twenty fleeces washed had been weighed against twenty 
fleeces unwashed I think the financial results would have been 
approximately equal. 
Against the preceding I will quote the case of Mr. Mitchell, of 
Howgill Castle, who says : — 
Iu 1887 I tested the difference in weight and price between washing and 
not washing both blackfaced and greyfaced sheep. 
I have unfortunately lost the paper 1 had them marked upon, but the 
blackfaced sheep made 2| d. and the greyfaced per head more unwashed, 
so we have never washed any sheep since. 
I consider it a great advantage not requiring to wash, especially to owners 
of fell stock, as after washing they require to be shepherded on the fell, or 
let go, and again gathered when dry to clip. 
The blackfaced sheep that I made the trial of, both washed and un- 
washed, got half a gill of oil apiece when dipping in the previous back-end, 
but no salving. 
The next question to consider is one of great importance, and I 
have already briefly referred to it. 
Do the top-makers, spinners, (fee., the consumers of our English 
wool, prefer to buy and use it in the unwashed state ? I have made 
careful inquiries of some of the largest consumers of English wool, 
and the majority of them are strongly in favour of buying the wool 
in the unwashed condition, provided the dirty breech-locks are taken 
off the fleece before it is rolled up after clipping, and that no other 
dirty locks are rolled up inside the fleece, as these discolour the good 
wool. Farmers must remember that all wool, whether clipped in 
the washed or in the greasy state, before it can be combed, spun and 
manufactured, must be well scoured by soap and hot water ; and 
the scoui’ing machines in all factories are a vex*y important and ex- 
pensive plant. The wool buyer for a manufacturer, in valuing and 
purchasing wool, has to estimate what the wool will cost clean-scoured. 
Flockmasters must not, however, be misled by the idea that if they 
do not wash their wool they will get as much for it per pound as 
they will if it is washed. Take, for example, an ordinary washed 
half-bred hog fleece, such as will lose in scouring 15 to 20 per cent. 
In this state it is worth about 10c7. per lb. We will say it loses 20 
per cent. : this will cost clean-scoured about 12 \d. per lb. If the 
same wool is unwashed it will lose about 40 per cent. The buyer 
would then require to purchase it at about 20 per cent, less than the 
washed wool, viz., at 8 d. per lb., and at this it would come out clean- 
scoured about the same price. Briefly stated, a farmer will be as 
much in pocket by selling, say, a mixed clip unwashed at Id. per lb. 
as he would be by selling the same clip washed at 9 d. per lb. 
There is no doubt wool loses colour if kept too long, either in 
