Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1877-08-16
LIV { STOCK.
QUALITY OF WOOL.

LAlVG SioHti' vi '''A 't' ~ NH'
Aled to produce great alterations in the rel
ative weight and ~fifencss of the fleece by
careful attention to breeding, diet and shel
ter. This change is most marked in thu
German woods of Saxony, where a wool il
produced so tender and delicate ia ttStult
as to be only suited for purposes OF luxury
In addition to breeding and selection fol
f~ineness of wool, these growers have con
fined the sheep in wirter to warm build
ings, fed them on corn, hay and other heat
ing foods; and while the sheep have &C
auired the fine and delicate wool referred
TO, they haze at the same time d~egeneratec
into a weak and puny race, producing less
than half the weight of mutton that ordina.
rp focks would yieldby different treatment,
Where wool is the chief object everything
else is sacrificed.
While this course could not be recon-
mended in this country, where, ia most
sections, the quantity and quality Of NUT.
ton is an important factor ia the profit OF
sheep husbandry yet the lesson to be de-
duced is that constant care and judiciou:
GSCulIS soVCGh Wv NotsiAtA"tt I1oiA'J o'S
market value OF the wool with the same Ger.
tainty that the product Of mutton is CON
trolled' 1t is simply impossible to produce
wool of high market value by careless,
s~lliftless feeding, by iniudicious exposure to
Indictment weather or by irregularity or de
iciency Of food.
Evenness of fibre is all important quality
in the commercial value of wool. The prac-
ticed eye of an expert wool-buyer detects at
once the withered portions or breaches OF
the fibre that are to be found ia those parts
of the wool that protruded from the skin
when the animal was laboring under any
disease, or when exposed to undue cold or
deprivation of nutritious food. EXamina-
ton Of Il few tibres by the eye or the draw
ing of them through the fingers will detect
in the continuity of the thickness or strength
of the fibre seriously dinlinishes it's value
since it is liable to break during the first
process Of manufactures. In very old and
poverty-struck sheep the greater part, Or
the whole of the wool will have a shrivelcd
appearance that can be detected by the
ewes Or finger. Short, coarse white hairs at
rhe roots OF. the staple, which will never
take dye, are found principally in neglected
breeds, and dctract from the value of such
~1lecces.
sa1High-grade wool must combine the val
uable qualities of fineness, %fullness, free
ness, %sounaness or strength, lengthand soft
ness. Fineness of the fibre should display
itself by a uniformity all over the body,
though naturally Il coarser quality may be
expected on the top Of the shoulders and
rump, and ii weaker quality on the belly ;
: the finest quality of wool is found upon the
spine from the neck to within six inches of
the tail, inclufling 1-3 0 fthe breadth OF the
back or saddle. Fllllness means the close
ness with which the staple Of locks of wool
grow together on the skin. Upon opening
the wool ola well fed sheep, possessing this
quality in perfection, only Il thin line OF
skin will appear, while if deficient, a space
almost bare. Freeness max S the separate
1ibrcs of each staple distinct, and not in
clined to become tangled together. A lack
OF this quality shows itself most plainly
along the ridge of the back, and in well
bred sheep the wool, on being opened,
should fall apart under the hands like the
leaves of Il book.
Soundncss or strength of fibre is indicated
by the amount of krease in the wool, plen-
~ of grease indicating strength and in abun-
dance of nutritious TODD producing grease.
Along the ridge OF the back there Is is a sort
of division between the wool of each side
,anlarnaSS inyariahly shows ifsnlf there