SOMETHING ABOUT WOOL 



329 



now much of our wool will grade within this classification 

 and show no Merino blood. The use of the word "low" 

 indicates a somewhat inferior quality of the grade next above 

 it. Braid is the coarsest grade we have, and is the product 

 of long-wool sheep, such as the Cotswold or Lincoln. 



A scale of points for judging wool has recently been pro- 



WOOL SCORE CARD 



BREED Date 



GRADE. . . .Student's Name 



QUALITY OR FINENESS: Fine fiber, breed or grade 

 considered. Not a mixture of fine and coarse fibers. 

 Not a wide difference between shoulder and breech. 

 Finer areas large; coarser ones small 20 



LENGTH: Should be clearly of combing length for the 

 grade; that is fine, 2^4 inches; Yi blood, 3 inches; 

 Ys blood, 3>/2 inches; l / blood, 4 inches. Lengths 

 more than % inch greater of no additional value 

 except in wool coarser than l /i blood. Fibers that 

 lie together, all the same length. Little variation 

 over main parts of the fleece. A minimum of short 

 wool 15 



SOUNDNESS: Strong throughout; no weak spots; fibers 

 of uniform thickness from base to tip except for 

 tapering of yearling fleeces 15 



PURITY: No hair, kemp, or black or dark brown fibers. 

 Score heavily for beard hairs on wrinkles of fine 

 wooled sheep, dark fibers mixed through the fleece of 

 Downs, and coarse hair on the breech of croi 

 breds 12 



CHARACTER: (a) Fiber, evenly crimped throughout, 

 crimp close and distinct, fibers parallel except for 

 sufficient binders to hold the fleece together. Tips 



free from wastiness. No frowzy wool 6 



(b) Soft and springy to touch; elastic under pressure 



COLOR: White, bright. Main fleece free from stains. 

 Minimum of stained areas around breech and on 

 belly 4 



CONDITION: (a) Yolk, moderate in quantity, light 



color, evenly distributed 3 



(b) Free as possible from naturally adhering sand 



and dust, and from heavy tags and sweat locks .... 3 



(c) Free from burrs, chaff, seeds or other foreign 

 matter, not mouldy or mothy; free from excessive 

 paint, not tied with sisal or rough jute twine, or 



with excessive amounts of twine. Not cotted .... 20 



Total points . . 



Perfect 

 Standard 



100 



Student's 

 Grade 



WEIGHT OF FLEECE. (Actual or estimated ) 



SHRINKAGE. (Per cent estimated weight clean wool ) 



FINAL SCORE. (Total score, times estimated weight of clean wool ) 



ESTIMATED PRICE PER CLEAN POUND 



TOTAL VALUE OF FLEECE 



VALUE PER GREASE POUND 



The above scale of points was prepared more especially for scoring commercial 

 wool, of combing class, rather than wool of a breed, or of clothing or braid class. 



