United States Wool Manufacturing Sta The wool manufacturing industry of the United States as recorded by the last Special Census of Manufactures grouped under this title 501 establishments making woolen goods; 298 establishments making worsted goods; 97 making carpets and rugs; 53 making wool felts; and 30 making wool-felt hats—a total of 979. The entire industry so constituted engaged 203,716 persons, of which number 195,285 were wage earners; 22,160 being spinners, and 46,173 being weavers. Of the whole number, 109,527 were employed in making worsted goods; 49,165 in making woolen goods; 31,309 in making carpets and rugs; 4,035 manufacturing felt; and 1,249 in making wool-felt hats.
The number of establishments engaged in this industry has steadily declined since 1869, when 3,208 were in operation. This reduction in number has been due in part to the abandon ment of many rural carding mills operated often in connection with the local grist-mill or saw-mill, and in larger part to the consolida tion of the smaller concerns into large units. The industry is at present centralized in Penn sylvania and Massachusetts, 266 of the estab lishments reported being in the former State and 183 in the latter. Rhode Island appears as a distant third with 80.
Practically all of the wool used in the manufacture of woolen, worsted and felt goods is of the finer grades— that is of clothing and combing wools. The raw wool used by the carpet mills is nearly all of foreign origin, and of low grade. Less than of 1 per cent of American grown wool enters into the carpet and rug manufacture.
The capital employed in all branches of wool manufacture in the United States as reported by the last census amounted to $497,699,293, and the total production was valued at $464, 249,813, divided thus: worsteds, $275,688.474; woolens, $103,815,905; carpets and rugs, $69, 128,185; felts and felt hats, $15,637,249.
The specific products of the industry were reported as follows: All-wool woven goods, a total of 323,067,563 square yards, comprising Worsted suitings, overcoatings and dress-goods. 222,420,785 Woolen suitings, overcoatings and dress-goods 90,980,381 Underwear flannels 2,176.264 Blankets 6.489,689 Horse blankets 102,205 Carriage cloths 514,226 Carriage robes 132.399 Shawls 124.486 Miscellaneous 127,128 Cotton-warp woven goods, a total of 196, 179,866 square yards, comprising Worsted-filling cuttings, overcoatings, and dress goods • 56,763,091 Wool-filling suitings, overcastings, and dress goods 53.509.462 Domett flannels and shirtings 16,092,266 Linings, Italian cloths, and lasting& 36,196,243 Satinets and limeys 8,415.079 Blankets 17,973,821 Horse blankets 5.831,305 Carriage robes 1,282.417 Miscellaneous 116.182 Union or cotton-mixed goods, a total of 46,244,730 square yards, comprising Suiting% overcoatings and dress-goods 31,400.082 Underwear flannels 4,995,575 Blankets 3,937,463 Horse blankets 2,231,162 Carriage robes 354,049 Miscellaneous 3,326,399 In addition there were manufactured 1,598, 444 square yards of upholstery goods; 132, 559,701 pounds of yarns for sale; 8,985,170 pounds of tops and stubbing; 23,961,100 pounds of nods; and 26,433,970 pounds of wool waste.
In the carpet and rug industry a total of 66,340,314 square yards was produced, divided as follows: Axminster and moquette 15.742,835
Wilton 5,616,263 Brussels 2,698,840 Tapestry velvets 13.227.859 Tapestry, Brussels 13,614..354 Ingrain 5,795,807 Ingrain art squares 3,177,563 Smyrna rugs 822,150 All other carpets and rugs 5,644,643 In the hosiery industry large quantities of wool were used in making the yarns consumed, and the census reported the finished yarns as follows: merino yarn, 24,180,036 pounds; woolen yarns, 7,714,761 pounds; worsted yarns, 231,752 pounds. These quantities must be accounted a part of the wool consumption of the country, as they were in addition to the 25,000,000 pounds of yarn bought by the hosiery mills from the woolen mills.
The materials used in the wool manufactur ing industry embraced 277,588,101 pounds of domestic wool and 225,269,232 pounds of foreign wool—equivalent to about 307,705,932 pounds of scoured wool. In addition there was used 6,928,622 pounds of domestic mohair; 2,446.219 pounds of foreign mohair; 6,619,750 pounds of camel, alpaca and vicuna hair; and 28,136,636 pounds of other animal hair. Rags and clippings yielded 62,083,016 pounds, and wool recovered from other materials, *158,915 pounds. Yarns purchased in for eign countries totaled 214,455,204 pounds, divided thus: woolen yarn, 23,802,234 pounds; worsted yarn, 62,895,372 pounds; merino yarn, 706,483 pounds. Silk yarns were used to the extent of 706.483 pounds; cotton yarns, 56,988, 329 pounds; linen yarns, 7,611,078 pounds; and yarns of jute, ramie, and other vegetable fibre in the amount of 61,653,015 'pounds. The cotton, linen, jute, and other vegetable yarns were used almost exclusively by the carpet and rug industry.
Closely associated with the wool manufac turing industry are the wool shoddy and the wool pulling industries. Shoddy is the trade name given to wool recovered by tearing apart soft woolen rags. It is of the class of short staple, and while it is not as durable as new v ool, it provides a very large amount of ma terial suitable for cheap garments, blankets, etc. The wool shoddy industry according to the census was carried on by 64 establishments em ploy ing a capital of $6,420,985, and 2,145 hands, and producing a yearly output valued at $7,706, 843. The wool pulling factories reduce waste yarn to fibre which may be recardcd, spun and woven. In 1914 there were 34 such establish ments with a combined capital of $3,534,203. They employed 708 hands, and their annual out put was valued at $8,272,721.
Bibliography.— Barker, A. F., and Priestley, E., 'Wool Carding and Combing' (London 1912); Beaumont, R., 'Woolen and Worsted' (ib. 1915) ; Bennett, F. P., & Co., 'Woolen and Worsted Fabrics Glossary: Containing Instruc tions for the Manufacture of Every Known Grade' (Boston 1914); National Association of Wool Manufacturers, 'Annual Wool Review' (Boston); Ormerod, F., 'Wool' (London 1918); Radcliffe. J. W.. 'The Manufacture of Woolen and Worsted Yarns' (Manchester 1913); The Textile Mercury's 'Wool Year-book' (Man chester annually); Turner, H., 'The Worsted Spinners Practical Handbook' (London 1915); U. S. Agriculture Department Bulletin 206, 'The Woolgrower and the Wool Trade' (Washington 1915). J. 1. HARDY. Associate Wool Specialist, The University of Wyoming Agricultural College axd Experi ment Station.