DISCOLORED WOOL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17946, 25 November 1932, Page 4

DISCOLORED WOOL

RED, WHITE AND BLUE

REPORT ON GISBORNE SAMPLE

It is possible for wool to display all the patriotic colors, red, white aud blue, aud others as well.

This was made clear in a report received by ALr. J. D. Anderson, stock inspector at Gisborne, from the Wallaceville laboratory. Air. Anderson received a sample of green wool taken from a hogget on one of the district stations, and ho dispatched this to the laboratory for a report, which states: "The green color is due to infection of the wool with a green pigmentproducing organism called pseudomonas proeyaneus. This organism can produce a variety of colors varying from reddish to blue, but generally seems to produce the green tint in infected wool.

"It generally occurs under conditions of damp, muggy weather, .or rather, such conditions arc responsible for giving the organism its footing in the wool. It occurs in Australia in a condition known as "water rot," and wo have met with a number of cases in this country also. The green tinge in the wool is not taken out by any of the usual commercial woolscouring processes. "Affected wool generally has an unpleasant smell and is very attractive to blow-flies. Affected sheep should' be sorted out, the affected wool shorn off and burnt. The animals should then bo dipped. The organism is not very resistant and dipping in one of tho carbolic dips should kill it, provided the animal gets a thorough soaking, but tho affected sheep should be shorn off first as organisms in the green-stained wool may bo partially bedded in the fibres and so protected from the dip’s action."