l6 SHEEP : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



The contrast between these fine clothing wools and our 

 home wools is most striking. The fibre of a Lincoln, Cots- 

 wold, or even a Southdown is coarse and thick beside the 

 Merino. There is in our long wools an absence of curl or 

 crinkle, the fibre resembling hair rather than real fine wool. 

 It is loose, lashy and long, whereas the Merino is compact 

 (solid), springy, and short. Lincoln or Cotswold wool 10 

 in. long will not stretch, whereas Merino wool of 4 in. will 

 readily stretch to 5 in., and in one case above cited Merino 

 wool of two years' growth measured 9 in., and when stretched 

 12 in. These are the carding wools from which dress cloth is 

 made, and it is different in its properties from the long wools, 

 which, as well as our native short wools, are subjected to 

 combing, and destined for the manufacture of worsted yarns, 



