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TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



dust, dirt, burs, and seeds lower the yield and affect the value 

 of the clean wool. The following table shows the important 

 part that shrinkage plays in fixing prices. At the top are various 

 prices per pound of clean or scoured wool. In the column to 

 the left are various percentages of shrinkage. By the use of this 

 table we find, for example, that if clean wool is worth $1.00 per 

 pound and the shrinkage is 65 per cent., the wool is worth 35 

 cents in the grease, whereas, if the shrinkage is 60 per cent., 

 the grease wool is worth 40 cents. 



Relative prices of scoured and raw wool at varying percentages of shrinkage. 



2. Class and grade of the wool. Ordinarily combing 

 wools are worth about 10 per cent, more than the short or cloth- 

 ing wools. 



3. Character in wool. This refers to the color or white- 

 ness of the fiber, the soundness, luster, evenness of distribution 

 of yolk, and the degree of crimp which gives elasticity to the 

 fiber. A fine Merino fiber may be easily stretched by hand 

 30 per cent, beyond its crimped length, and by gradual pressure 

 on a machine fully that much more. A white fiber may be 

 used in the manufacture of white cloth, or may be dyed any 

 desired color. Black, brown, or gray wool can be used only in 

 dark-colored fabrics, and furthermore it is difficult to stain these 

 wools exactly the same shade as white wool. Kemp, which are 

 hair-like fibers, found mostly on the thighs of coarse-wooled 

 sheep, will absorb little dye, if any at all, and fleeces containing 

 kemp are discriminated against as lacking in character. In 

 kemp the outer scales lie so closely against the body of the 

 fiber that the dye cannot penetrate. The body of the fiber 

 alone absorbs the dye. 



