THE FLEECE. 99 



to be used in improving the poor, smooth-skinned native race 

 common on the western plains, in which case a heavy yolked and 

 much wrinkled ram may be found desirable. 



The Fleece. A sheep bred exclusively, or chiefly, for wool^ must 

 necessarily be valued in proportion to the value of the fleece. The 

 wool of a pure-bred Merino of any value, should stand at right 

 angles to the skin, presenting a dense, smooth, even surface on the 

 exterior, opening nowhere but in those natural cracks or divisions 

 which separate the fleece into masses. These masses should not 

 be small in size, or they indicate excessive fineness of fleece ; a " 

 quarter of an inch is the limit in this respect ; nor too large, lest 

 the wool be coarse and harsh. The length should be such as, corn^ 

 bined with thickness of staple, will give the greatest weight of 

 fleece. Medium wool is generally in greater demand than fine 

 wool, and it is more profitably produced. Two to three inches is 

 probably the most desirable length of fleece for profit. A change, 

 however, is taking place in this respect, since the practice of 

 combing Merino wool has become general, and three inches 

 and over is a frequently desired length of fiber. It is not 

 desirable to have the face covered with wool long enough to fold 

 up in the fleece. If the eyes are covered with such wool, the sheep 

 is either blinded, or the wool must be kept clipped close. The 

 ears should be small, with a coat of soft mossy hair about half 

 way to the roots, and for the remainder, covered with wool. A 

 naked ear is very objectionable. Evenness in quality in every 

 part of the sheep is very desirable, if air growing up through the 

 wool on the thighs, the neck-folds, or scattered through the fleece 

 here and there, is not to be allowed. The wool should be sound, 

 that is, of even strength from end to end of the fiber. It should 

 be highly elastic and wrinkled, curved or wavy. The number of 

 these curls, or waves, to the inch, is not so much a test of excel- 

 lence as their regularity and beauty of curvature. A folding back 

 of the fiber upon itself is not so desirable as a gentler curve. (See 

 Chapter on Wool). 



Pliancy and Softness to the feeling in handling, is an excellent 

 test of quality, so much prized by manufacturers, that practiced 

 buyers will sometimes form an accurate judgment of a fleece by 

 handling it in the dark with gloved hands. 



Yolk. To what extent the yolk should exist in the wool of the 

 Merino, is a matter of dispute, and in some degree a matter of 

 taste. A certain portion of yolk is absolutely necessary to the 

 existence of a good fleece, and beyond this it is questionable if any 



