Wool. 71 



pastured in fields which are not partitioned by clean fences, or 

 very frequently owing to carelessness in pasturing the sheep 

 after washing. In this latter case the wool being freed from 

 its load of gi-ease is liable to pick up bits of straw and vegetable 

 matter, and as these are very difhcult to get out of the fleece 

 considerable damage is done to the wool and consequently it 

 would not bring top price. To-day a manufacturer would far 

 rather have to deal with real burrs in wool than with moity, 

 straw-laden wool. Whole burrs can be taken out mechani- 

 cally with ease : bits of vegetable matter must be carbonised out 

 with acid to the marked detriment of the wool (see Fig. 4). 



Fig. 4.— a. Moity Wool. b. Burry Wool. 



4. " Get-up " of Fleeces and Packing. — Too often between 

 washing and shearing sheep are left under conditions adverse 

 to the production of the best possible fleeces. During the days 

 which elapse between washing and shearing every care shoukl 

 be taken of the fleeces. After shearing the fleeces should be 

 tied up with their own wool and on no account with band or 

 any foreign })inding. A few experiments in the folding of -a 

 fleece will soon get the shearer into the right method (see 

 Fig. 5). 



5. Washed v. Unwashed Fleeces. — The battle of greasy and 

 washed wool was fought in Bradford years ago resulting in a 

 victory for the greasy condition with certain reservations. It 

 seems more than i)robal)le that the potash salts sent down our 

 rivers every year from sheep washing stations represent a con- 

 siderable monetary loss. Of course it may be argued that 

 railway rates are against transport in the grease and this no 

 doubt is true : perhaps truer for English wools than for Colonial 



