1J2 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  3,  18SP. 
TIIE  WOOL  PROSPECT. 
A  farmer  is  essentially  a  dealer  and  producer  in  one.  Sometimes 
he  trades  in  the  raw  material,  at  others  in  the  manufactured.  In  the 
latter  category  we  may  class  fat  poultry  dressed,  butter,  cheese,  hay, 
straw,  Potatoes,  and  Oats,  these  being  all  usable  without  the  interven¬ 
tion  of  the  middleman  ;  and  to  this  list  we  might  add  broken  horses 
of  all  descriptions.  II is  goods  that  are  sold  in  the  raw  arc  cereals 
other  than  Oats,  the  living  forms  of  b(ef  and  mutton,  and  wool. 
There  was  a  time  when  wool  was  the  farmer’s  sheet  anchor.  Wool 
was  not  so  fluctuating  in  price  as  the  other  of  his  wares.  Given  the 
sheep,  the  quantity  and  quality  varied  little  with  each  year,  the 
difference  in  quality  being  mainly  in  the  wool  buyer’s  imagination. 
It  was  a  crop  totally  independent  of  weather,  quickly  secured,  and 
easily  stored.  It  was  a  pleasant  sort  of  “extra,”  that  came  into  being 
without  any  effort  on  the  fanner’s  part.  Whether  the  sheep  were 
turning  into  good  wether  mutton,  or  performing  maternal  duties,  the 
fleece  was  there  just  the  same,  the  sheep— notwithstanding  the  epithet 
“silly” — being  one  of  those  unusual  animals  who  can  do  two  things 
well  at  once. 
Clipping  time  used  to  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  festival  ;  extra 
plums  in  the  cake,  extia  ale  in  the  can,  and  if  the  farm  force  was  not 
equal  to  the  occasion  there  were  bands  of  noted  clippers  to  be  procured 
at  little  trouble.  There  might  be  the  question  of  storing  if  prices  did 
not  tempt,  ar.d  there  was  money  in  hand  to  pay  the  harvest  wages, 
but  generally  the  wool  was  sold  soon  after  it  was  clipped.  The 
markets  in  Juno  and  July  were  full  of  wool  staplers,  who,  in  hired 
gig,  would  sally  forth  to  inspect  one  clip  after  another. 
Of  course  there  would  be  some  little  wrangle  as  to  price,  but  the 
matter  being  'amicably  settled,  sheets  would  be  sent  for,  twine  and 
packing  needles,  the  immense  weighs  hoisted  in  barns  or  granary,  and 
the  work  of  weighing  and  jacking  begin.  Usually  a  few  friends 
and  neighbours  would  assist,  stimulated  with  a  glass  of  sherry  or, 
perchance,  champagne.  The  buyer  kept  his  record  of  weights,  the 
farmer  Iub  also  as  a  check.  Packing  wool  in  warm  weather  was  an 
arduous  job,  and  qui  e  demanded  a  good  tea  afterwards,  in  which 
buyer  and  helpers  all  participated. 
A  change  has  come  over  the  faco  of  things.  No  longer  are  the 
buyers  keen,  no  longer  the  sellers  jubilant  ;  prices  have  sunk  so 
low  that  there  is  no  profit  or  pleasure  in  the  trale,  and  this  one 
crop,  on  which  the  farmer  relied  to  help  him  out  of  many  a  difficulty, 
is  no  longer  of  great  intrinsic  value. 
There  are  several  causes  at  work,  and  there  seems  at  present  very 
little  chance  of  any  improvement  in  price.  Fashion  has  much  to 
newer  for,  and  fashion  dictates  a  softer,  finer  class  of  wool  than  is 
upplied  by  the  majority  of  our  English  sheep.  English  wool  was 
at  one  time  considered  the  best  in  the  world  for  all  general  pur¬ 
poses.  There  was  little  importation  of  foreign  staples,  and  thoy 
were  so  obviously  inferior  as  to  be  of  no  account.  Put  our  foreign 
friends  soon  found  this  out,  and  as  their  mutton  trade  was  no  great 
thing  they  took  to  improving  the  wool  by  judicious  crossings 
with  some  of  our  best  and  purest  blood.  Good  rams  were  to  be 
had  at  a  price,  and  the  enterprising  foreigner  was  ready  to  find 
that  price. 
In  Australia  alone  the  number  of  sheep  is  101,000,000,  as  against 
74,000,000  in  1882.  And  it  is  not  Australia  alone  wo  have  to 
contend  with.  There  is  that  formidable  and  new  country  of  the 
Argentine.  Not  only  does  she  flood  us  with  foreign  mutton,  but 
pours  her  fleeces  into  our  markets.  The  Cape,  too,  is  not  behind¬ 
hand  ;  in  fact,  wo  seem  to  be  the  receivers  of  the  surplus  wool  of  all 
nations. 
We  fancy,  too,  our  manufacturers  get  some  of  their  finest  staples 
from  the  States,  and  of  course  for  these  super-excellent  classes  the 
prices  are  good.  What  we  seem  to  want  is  a  sheep  readily  convertible 
into  the  best  quality  of  mutton,  not  too  fat,  not  too  coarse,  and 
whose  fleece  is  of  the  fine.it  and  most  delicate  texture.  We  are  not 
quite  sure  if  we  are  altogether  wise  in  our  crossing  ;  we  think  wo 
may  be  losing  some  of  the  definite  distinctions  for  which  our  woo) 
has  been  renowned.  The  pendulum  of  fashion  is  ever  on  the  swing, 
and  there  may  be  a  ca'l  for  the  old  style  of  blight  haired  pure 
lustre. 
We  have  come  across  one  curious  fact  that  indicates  the  growth  of 
the  sheep  industry  in  Argentina.  During  the  last  nineteen  years  that 
country  has  imported  for  breeding  purposes  no  less  than  40,078  of 
our  best  long  woolkd  sheep!  Verily  she  must  abound  in  shepherd 
kings. 
Outsiders  are  a]  t  to  consider  the  grumble  about  wool  price  as  one 
without  adequate  foundation.  Sometimes  figures  will  convince  when 
words  will  not.  We  can  easily  remember  the  time  ourselves  when 
pure  lustre  made  2s.  Gd.  per  lb.,  and  when  we  were  as  children  told  off 
to  pick  the  the  lost  pieces  from  eff  hedges  and  fences,  and  when  tire 
“dockings”  were  carefully  washed  and  collected.  Only  one  day  last 
week  we  came  across  a  place  in  a  field  where  Bhcep  had  been  docked* 
and  no  attc  rapt  had  been  made  to  save  or  pick  up  the  fragments. 
1880,  price  per  lb. 
1898,  price  per  lb. 
Pure  lustre 
...  It.  8d. 
...  7£d. 
Demi  lustre 
...  Is.  2d. 
...  7,{d. 
Half-bred 
...  Is.  2  1. 
...  8d. 
Pure  down  *... 
...  Is.  4d. 
...  9d. 
Mixed  breeds  ... 
...  0j.  lid. 
...  7d. 
Mountain 
...  0s.  8.1. 
...  Gd. 
Do  these  facts  need  any  fuither  comment  from  us ’( 
WORK  ON  TIIE  HOME  FARM. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  some  of  them  have  been  too  heavy  for 
the  grain  crops,  the  showers  of  the  past  few  days  have  been  decidedly 
good  for  everything  else.  Mayhap  in  some  districts  there  have  been  no 
showers  (rains  in  July  being  often  local  in  their  charucter),  nevertheless 
many  farmers  have  rejoiced,  und  are  still  rejoicing  in  the  fact  that  their 
TurnipH,  though  not  as  good  or  forward  as  usual,  still  show  the  possibility 
of  a  crop  of  some  sort. 
We  see  in  tho  papers  reports  of  the  commencement  of  harvest  ;  there 
is  nothing  ready  in  the  Eastern  Midlands,  and  v.e  are  glad  that  it  is  so, 
for  much  remains  to  he  done  in  the  Turnip  fields,  hay  and  Clover  stacks 
must  bo  thatched,  and  labour  is  scarce. 
Turnips  have  grown  well,  and  it  has  taken  the  men  all  their  time  to 
keep  up  with  the  thinning  and  weeding.  The  showery  weather  has  been 
very  favourable  for  the  use  of  the  horse  hoe.  As  regards  this  district  u 
Turnip  crop  is  assured  where  tho  plant  is  good,  hut  there  are  a  few 
failures,  one  unfortunate  having  drilled  Swedes  twice  without  success,  and 
is  now  trying  common  Turnips.  Inquiry  elicited  the  fact  that  cnly  2J  lbs. 
of  seed  per  acre  were  sown.  Well,  if  farmers  will  run  the  risk  of  losing 
a  valuable  crop  for  tho  sake  of  a  lb.  or  two  of  seed  it  is  their  own  fuult. 
We  have  met  with  another  farmer  who  harrows  his  Turnips  cross¬ 
wise.  He  harrows  immediately  after  the  first  horse  hoeing,  if  there  is  no 
fly  damage.  Light  harrows  with  teeth  widely  set  arc  the  best. 
Mangold  are  everywhere  good  ;  the  last  dressing  of  nitrate  has  been 
applied,  the  weeding  all  finished,  and  we  can  look  forward  to  a  fine  crop 
with  confidence.  Lambs  are  doing  well  and  will  soon  require  a  little 
Cabbage.  A  few  carted  into  the  pasture  every  day  will  get  tho  lambs 
accustomed  to  them,  and  the  quantity  can  he  gradually  increase I.  Tho 
ripe,  well  hearted  Cabbage  should  bo  used  first,  and  all  those  showing 
signs  of  splitting,  ns  the  latter  soon  rot  when  the  ruin  penetrates  them. 
Late  Rotators  are  looking  grand  ;  fields  of  the  “  Up-to-Date"  are  lilio 
huge  purple  flower  beds.  Carrots  have  not  done  very  well  so  far.  They 
have  grubbed  a  little,  and  have  taken  a  great  deal  of  cleaning.  They 
require  a  more  copious  supply  of  rain,  which  would  moisten  tho  soil  quit® 
through. 
OUR  LETTER  BOX. 
Food  for  Animals  (A.  C.  C.). — 1,  Wheat  chaff  is  hotter  than  Oat  chaff, 
tho  last  named  having  little  or  no  consumptive  value.  2,  We  have  had 
no  ill  results  follow  with  animals  having  access  to  Cedar  or  Berbcris,  but 
tho  less  of  Laurel  or  Box  they  eat  the  better. 
