FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 101 



pense to wash his sheep at all. From four to eight per cent of Michigan 

 wool contains burrs, litter, etc., while of the remainder nineteen per cent, 

 is in a condition which is discriminated against by the buyers. It either 

 contains a large amount of tags or is improperly tied. Generally speak- 

 ing, our Michigan fleeces are pressed together too snugly in too' small a 

 wool box. too much twine is used, and very often a twine very detrimental 

 to the fleece if it becomes incorporated with it. 



THE VALUE OF WOOL DEPENDS 



upon its condition, its quality, the length and strength of the staple and 

 the amount or per cent it will scour. The condition of the fleece can be 

 easily governed by a little thoughtful attention on the part of the wool 

 grower. There is no excuse for wools going to the market full of bnrrs, 

 seeds and other litter. All of these foreign substances increase the 

 weight of the fleece, but decrease its value, since it increases to a con- 

 siderable extent the cost of scouring it and preparing it for the use of the 

 wool manufacturer. The only way the farmer can improve the quality, 

 density, and covering of wool is by careful breeding and selection. You 

 cannot make any more fibers to the square inch by better feeding; you 

 do, however, increase the length of the staple and the amount of yolk in 

 the fleece. To get the best results the fiber of the fleece must grow evenly 

 from the time the sheep is shorn until the fleece is removed again. We 

 might liken the wool fiber to a delicate rod on which is recorded every 

 varying condition of the sheep during the time the fiber remains on the 

 sheep. That fleece of wool is most valuable which has the best quality 

 and length and which scours the least. 



GRADING OP WOOL. 



We have had considerable to say about the quality of wool. Quality 

 refers to the fineness of the fiber, and to no other consideration. XXX is 

 the finest quality of wool that we have. It is very scarce in the markets at 

 the present time, in fact almost unknown. It is designated sometimes as 

 Picklock. This means that the wool grading as triple X has the smallest 

 fiber of any wool placed on the market. The next lowest grade is two X. 

 The finest samples of our American Merino wool are sometimes graded 

 in this class, but most of our Michigan Merino wool fall into the grade 

 known as X in the market. Coarser wools than X are designated by ^, 

 §, ^, etc. Wools which are not long enough for combing purposes are 

 designated as clothing wools. With the exception of the Delaine 

 Merinos, the fleeces of most Merino sheep are graded as clothing wools, as 

 also wools coming from the Southdown and a good part of that coming 

 from the Shropshire and Hampshire breeds, and the various crosses be- 

 tween these breeds and the Merino. Wools to be good combing wools 

 must be not only of a certain length, but of good strength. The finest 

 quality of combing wools are Delaines, if we may be permitted to call 

 Delaine wools combing. Delaine fleeces may be graded as fine, medium 

 or low Delaine or in some markets as No. 1, 2 and 3 Delaine. Then come 

 the coarser combing wools designated as -J, f, :^, coarse and braid comb- 

 ing, braid combing, of course, being a wool possessing the coarsest fiber. 

 Some fleeces of the Lincoln and Cotswold breeds fall into this class of 

 braid combing wools, while specimens of this breed producing wool of 



