268 



TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



Sorting wool. The wool manufacturer buys from the wool 

 dealer the grade of wool which he desires and thus secures fleeces 

 which have a certain average degree of fineness. However, 

 each fleece varies more or less in fineness. Wool from the lower 

 thighs, called the "britch," is usually the coarsest part of the 

 fleece. The shoulder wool is best in strength, quality, and 

 length; the sides are next best, and quality decreases passing 

 backward to the britch. Wool from the back is likely to con- 

 tain hayseed and chaff. The belly wool is finer than any, but 

 is short, frowzy, not so strong, and lacks character. A "frowzy" 

 wool is one that appears lifeless, and is badly mussed, the fibers 

 and locks lying topsy turvy. The wool from the head is short, 

 coarse, and in dark-faced breeds is likely to contain black fibers. 

 A fleece may be three-eighths-blood or half-blood on the shoulder, 

 while the britch would be quarter-blood. For these reasons, 

 the wool manufacturer usually sorts the wool which he buys. 

 The fleece is untied, shaken out, and thrown upon a table having 

 a slatted or wire-mesh top so that the loose dirt in the fleece 

 will fall through. 



The following table giving the results of an actual case of 

 sorting a bag of wool will be of interest.* This bag contained 

 fleeces that had been graded in the warehouse as half-blood. 

 The gross weight was 245 pounds; weight of bag, 4J4 pounds; 

 net weight of wool, 240 % pounds. 



Results of sorting a bag of half-blood Montana wool. 



*U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 206. 



