156 
Sheep Washing. 
the greasy or in the washed state. I do not think that, on this 
point, there is much to choose between them. But why should 
farmers and dealers keep and hoard up wool 1 It is made to use, 
and not to keep for moth and rust to corrupt. 
I may repeat here what I said in a paper read before the Kendal 
Farmers’ Club a dozen years ago : — 
“ In my remarks I wish it to be understood that I speak from a 
wool point of view, and also with the object of helping forward 
Lady Bective’s movement. 
“ The best advice I can give you if you want to aid this move- 
ment, and to see the woollen industry flourish in our land, is to sell 
your wool every year. Make it a rule never to commence to clip 
your sheep until the previous year’s clip is sold, and turned into 
money. This, to my mind, is the kernel of the whole question. 
You know wool is always good to sell at a market price, especially 
in the season. You know there are in this neighbourhood plenty of 
facilities for selling wool. In Kendal alone there are about a dozen 
Arms, all wool buyers at clip time, and in the case of my own firm 
we have monthly sales whereby we put farmers in direct communi- 
cation with spinners and manufacturers throughout the whole 
kingdom. Let us think of the advantages that would arise from 
your adopting the policy of selling your wool every year. 
“ 1st. — If you sell it, it will find its way to the manufacturer 
and spinner, who will use it in manufacturing something useful. 
If not intended for ladies’ dress goods, it will be utilised in other 
materials, such as carpets, tweeds, knitting yarns, curtains, furniture 
cloths, braids, and other articles which take up an enormous quan- 
tity of wool. 
“ 2nd. — Your selling wool to be manufactured will be giving em- 
ployment to all the hands required to make these goods. 
“ 3rd. — If you sell your wool at low prices you will find the 
benefit in buying low-priced clothing. 
“ 4th. — By adopting a policy of selling your wool every year, 
you will keep prices more uniform, and we should not have so many 
fluctuations. 
“ My experienoe is, that the farmer who sells his wool every year 
is the man who does best in the long run. Many a farmer says he 
cannot afford to take the price he may have had offered, and yet he 
wants to sell his wool. Cannot afford ! Why, that man is the very 
man who can afford to sell it ; the very fact that he can afford to 
keep it shows he is not wanting money, but that he has himself 
turned speculator.” 
There can be no doubt that within the last ten years there has been 
a great change of opinion in reference to the question of sheep wash- 
ing. Ten years ago we had 27^ million sheep in Great Britain and 
Ireland, of which about 3 million would be clipped in the unwashed 
state. Last year (1892) we had 33| million sheep, and of these 
fully 10 million would be clipped in the greasy state, clearly show- 
ing that the practice of washing sheep is gradually being aban- 
doned. 
