ON JUDGING WOOL.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12908, 23 February 1906, Page 3

ON JUDGING WOOL.

i (Bradford Correspondent of the Napier i !, • : " Teiegrapn." « Perhaps there is no question so valuable < ; and the conseqi\en: result- so important an element in dealing successfully with sheep < and wool matter;-, as to know how to 1 judge wool in a proper, business-like man- ( ner. To the sheep-iariuer, as well as to .< the wool-buyer, this question is equally ' important; for, ;is to n.-e farmer, whose ' object is to miihe wuol growing pay, this * is a. matter claiming strict attention on his •' part, for in the buying of new sheep, in 1 ; the introduction of"' new blood into his flock, it is always of hist importance to ; know how to thm-oughty overhaul the ' ■ offered sheep boi'oie concluding the bar- - : gain. . "" ; i ; The finest and softest wool is always * found on the shoulders of the sheep. That * seems to be tlie special part favour-sd bv : ] nature throughout the whole breed of am- \ * mal life, and an expert on [ J always looks at the wool on the shoulders , first. A stock holder of experience in • j rearing fine wocilen sheep and in handling : , wool, gives the following stiggestions for j J selecting a good-woo!led sheep:— j ; Always assuming that the wool to be; 1 inspected is really line, we first of all pay ; * : special attention to the shoulders, where i the wool should-show, the finest throughout;' the whole carcase. This we take as a!.' standard, and compare it with the wool ' from the ribs, the thigh, the rump and 1 shoulders, and the nearer the woof from : the various portions of the animal ap- ' proaches the standard the better. First, ' we scrutinise the fineness, and if the vari- ;■! ous parts of the fleece are satisfactory, j' we pronounce it, in respect of fineness, !' " even." Next, consider that important : ' ; feature, the length of the staple, and, if., : we find that the wool on the ribs, thigh, j" and back approaches reasonably in length j' to that of our standard, we again declare the fleece, as- regards length of staple, • "true and even." The- next step is to ; satisfy ourselves as to the density or full- , ness of the fleece, and we do this by clos- : ing the hands upon a portion "of the rump : ■'-: and loin wool, these points or parts being usually the thinnest and most faulty. If this, again, gives satisfaction, we designate all the wool " even as to density." Now, to summarise these separate examinations:' If the fleece is nearly of equal length of shoulder, ribs, and back, and densitv on. - shoulder and across-the loins, we mavcon? '<' elude, 'other conditions being equa£ that we have a perfect sheep for producing valu?*! ■■' .able wool. Uniformity in the staple of wool is an I ." important matter. By this we do nob ! mean to say that all the wool in a fleece ! «hould be of the same length, but only it is ■ j necessary that in the di/erent main "parts, j .•such as neck, back, sides and breast, the ; wool be not uneven. With the exception '' of the commonest qualities, the fibres do not stand on the body of the animal singlv, ibut in tufts or staples, the single hairs : leaning towards each other' and closing J upon each other. These tufts generally unite into a bunch, which very often is - called a staple. When a wool has been i r well nourished, it will be found that th* . fleece is pretty even, viz., all over of the t same thickness, also round, not pointed ' and well closed. Above all, there must ; be no places, with the exception of the i I lower part of the neck, where the itaple is in steps or knotty, or running up into : , long points and entangled. ] The best thing is to take a single staple between the fingers, and to examine where •' there are any steps in the structure of ; ■ the fibre. Uneven growth of the wool ; is ,always caused when the animals have for a time had insufficient or bad food, '-, which produces, so to speak, an illness in ' ■ the wool, gives trouble in spinning, and ; also damages the appearance of the cloth. '■ Such wool is generally alternately thick ■ and thin, and is wanting in curl. i; The nature, or grease, of a fleece is also '; * a means of identifying good wool. We ; r are not now alluding to the sticky pasty i dried grease or yolk, but the oily sub- ] stance which ought to be evenly distributed, and which is a sign;. whether the '; functions of the body have been in a : normal state or not. There is, however; : ; ys, greasiness or oiliness of certain wool ■ ■; which is not natural:; this shows as a ■ f thin and abundant oil, and which feels ■ ■' as if it eould be squeezed out of the wool j ;by the pressure of the hand. Such exces- j isively oily wools must always be looked i mpon. with suspicion, for generally they j » get quite brittle after scouring. * j; The fineness of the wool is quite inde- < pendent of its quality, and has only to be j considered when it is a question of spin- ;j ning up to certain .counts. Sheep breeders ! i may not know, 3sut there is as much I j " quality and breed** about crossbred wools ' j as t&ere is about merino wools, and it is'; not sufficient to cost a wool fibre hrespec- i tive -of character, breed, and quality. The < curl in the wool generally conesponds T

with the fineness, but two great a curl i often a sign of weakness, and want of elas ticity. A firm wool mostly command! ihe best price., because it is generally assumed that with fineness also other good qualities are co-existing, though this is not always the case. Several instruments have been invented to test the fineness of the wool, but ibese are of little real value, for not only ie the wool in the same fleece, but also, in the same staple, often of an uneven thickThe beat instrument is "experience and;a good eye. Thus, for instance, hy taking, two staples into the cand, and removing themi gradually from *e. eye,..at will be found that some fibres disappear, from the vision before others: these are then the finer. By thus comparing different lots much experience may fc T&f!?« hl ° h ' With efficient practice. feZ t t f lffic f *° obtain - By the know! X ? V H ID6tance > sample A is finer P Pl ' B ' *** tMs a?ain finer than .ample C,_is np£at all sufficient to guide a buyer m selecting his wool. Manv E + TS t0 think that tlle Principal I thing to be learned is the faculty of gnW smg at the loss a certain; kind of wool will sustain when washed. This is. howIf rt 3n i erroneous The estimation ■of the oss certainly important, but should also be united with the knowledge of the best nse the wool can be put to. I£« « v SUch and such samples would give the beet, yarn for the cloth to be made, ai] d how fine it can be spun, and *„™ reqt T S mildl P ractice - Thus the same wool .may not have the same value

for all buyers. A dealer who only buys to sail is generally guided by fineness arid condition, for these features constitute the market value; the manufacturer may, however, often have paid too much for"a wo«.l simply because it- has certain valuable qualities which are of no use to him. Thus, l\.r instance, the best part of the shorn fleece would be too dear for backing purposes, where "noils" or the

short fibies cast out by the combing ma,chine would do the same service; wool <>f a long Jibre. suitable for combing, tvnnhl be out of plate for carding. So thai the real value of a wool to .1 manufacturer is after all determined by its destined purpose as by anything. We have mentioned fineness, .softiicsx-. and curL <;i the wool; with this -he quality t-f felting k intimately concerted. As « gen-tral rule we m;«y observe th;a ;ihe feUbg ptopertiss decrease with thi-

length of the wno!. that is to sav the fleece of a Scotch Blackface or a Linen:n will not fei: like the tf<eee of ». merino. The s-ior.cr and liner the wool is the more ends or lihres there a:p to a s;ivu weight: ii is thus better able to cta« and to felt, for felling is unthirg bu; ,-,; inierhuimr of the ends of the ifores. All iibres are to seme extent- a little uneven, and though appar-riiliy sm oth, aie in rc.iliiy not so. and of "all hair wool is per haps the least- even. It hr.s often longs, tudinal ridges, and always more or less closely set sectional mgk. 'flic structure of a hair of wor ; l i.iy be best ilitistra:e:l by tin plnck-g of' ;: number o: thimbles into each other, or better still a wool fibre is formed exactly like the onter edges of a fir cone. The projections, or ridges, on the surface of the wool, increase and swell very often in milling bv the heat of the operation; they then seize each other and interlock together, or felt. This wool which is very curly generally )v.::t more of these projections than a smoother | wool, and is for that- reasoa the be*: ; adapted for felting. ! In estimating the loss in sconrnjs. :«. is well to take from each lot a v.i:oic jfeere. and not only a smalkr sample, ami to weigh this iu the hand, when larger Hifferences will be easily, perceived. JlirV and sand here plays an important pari, being often in proportion of 10 to 13 per cent., while if w* reckon ; yo!k. etc.. the shrinkage will generally range near hand 50 per cent. But what is sand? This is a question upon which buyers and sellers do not always agree. At the same time the buy-tr always settles the point iwhen he Values the wool, and it is to'the grower's best interest to see that liis clip t of wool has in it as Ettle dirt -as possible. i _____ ,