lo July. 191 i.] '' Quality," as Applied to Sheep and Wool. 439 



out of order or through not being properly worked. A check should there- 

 fore be kept by regularly testing the skim milk. 



Specia; double necked flasks (Fig. 7) are used for testing skim milk. 

 They have a wide tube, reaching nearly to the bottom of the flask, through 

 which the milk and the acid are run in. As the graduated neck is of small 

 bore, it is possible to estimate the loss of fat clearly. 



Take 17.6 c.c. of skim milk into the flask, as in new milk, and 17.5 c.c. 

 or a little more acid may be used — up to 20 c.c. It is better to add half 

 the acid and mix it, then the remainder of the acid and shake until all 

 the casein is dissolved. The mixing must be done carefully, so that none 

 of the liquid is forced into the graduated neck or some will be lost. The 

 flask must be placed in the machine with the graduated neck tow'ards the 

 outside, so that, while the machine is running, the graduated neck will be 

 uppermost ; otherwise, some of the fat may lodge behind the tube and not 

 rise into the neck. The procedure then is the same as with new milk. The 

 loss of fat, as indicated by this test, should be kept below . i per cent. 

 or one-tenth of one per cent. 



It is best to use rain water for testing where possible. If spring water 

 containing lime, &c., is used, it may cause froth to appear on top of the 

 fat column. This should be avoided. 



" QUALITY." AS APPLIED TO SHEEP AND WOOL. 



//. ir. Ham, S/uep Expert. 



" QualitN " is essentially a wool term, and applies to fineness, or 

 breadth of lil)re. Fleeces from merino shee]T are known as broad, 

 medium, and superfine. The first, sheep-breeders know as strong wool ; the 

 second everyl)ody favours ; the last posses.ses quality in its highest sense, but 

 is usually too delicate to stand heat. dust, and dry autumns, and therefore 

 is not always profitable. 



A merino ram, said to be a sheep of "'great ciuality," need not neces- 

 sarily possess a fleece of similar, class. He mav have a fleece of even 

 fairly broad quality, nr robust staple, and yet be possessed of quality as a 

 sheep. 



Quality, ill the case ol a shee]). is another word for " good breeding," 

 but with stud sheep the term mi-ans more; for instance, a " frosty" or 

 '' kempy " faced, badly horned, merino ram may have a fleece of good 

 quality, but he would not, as a ram, be said to pos.sess (jualitv. On the 

 other hand, no matter how true a ram may Ix- in face, horn, and trueness 

 of wool in parts, he cannot be said to pos.sess qualitv in any .sense if he has 

 a strong fleece .showing wild coarse W(X>1 on folds and breech. A Lincoln 

 ram mav possess great (juality as a sheep, but the best Lincoln wool would 

 be coarse qualitv. In an export lamb. " sa|)piness '' is ([uality. 



" Style " in a fleece refers principally to |)erfect crimp and lustre, 

 whereas '" style " in a stud sheep is <iutwar(l appearance. A Shropshire 

 should posse.ss quality of flesh, and show (|u.dity all over, but the best 

 Shropshire fleeces, even when possessing length and lu.^tre — as m.uu of 

 them do— could not be called " fine <iuality." 



