Rural School Leaflet.- 



999 



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Fig. 74. — Delaine Merino, fine wooled type 



the condition and health of the sheep. A sheep kept in a good, sound, 



healthy condition, and well fed, will not be bothered with an unsound 



wool. The crimp, or 

 spiral in the fibre 

 •^ should be the same 



from base to tip, and 

 is an indication of the 

 sound condition. The 

 yolk, or oily matter in 

 the wool should be 

 abundant, as indica- 

 tive of a sound con- 

 stitution in the sheep. 

 This yolk is an oily 

 secretion and seems to 

 come from the tips of 

 the fibres, and then 

 works back into the 

 fleece. Theyolksaddto 

 the weight of the fleece, 



and hence to the farmer's pocket book, but, is a direct loss to the manu- 

 facturer, since it all comes out when the%'Ool is washed in hot water. 

 When sheep are 



raised for wool alone, 



one of the Merino 



breeds is chosen be- 

 cause they shear a 



larger amount of 



wool of good quality. 



Some of these fine 



wooled sheep have 



been known to shear 



as high as 25 pounds 



at a shearing. But 



commonly a middle 



or long wooled type 



of sheep is chosen in 



order to yield two 



products a year, a 



Fig. 75. — Southdown, ^niddle wooled type 



crop of wool from 6 to 10 pounds per sheep, and a crop of lambs for 

 market. The amount, quality, and quantity of wool yielded per sheep 



