152 



THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



Fig. 52. 



Fig. 53. 



gently, exposing the wool to the skin. The wool, on opening the 

 fleece, should appear beautifully white and glossy, or rich yellow 

 or orange colored, according to the style of the sheep. The fleece 

 is then closed carefully without allowing any dust to fall down 

 into the opening. The appearance of the open fleece should be 

 banded with varying colors of light and darker yellow or orange, 

 as in fig. 50, or when opened, as 

 a cup in fig. 51. .A well closed 

 fleece will exhibit a surface as 

 shown at fig. 52, and a badly 

 closed one will appear as at fig. 

 53. The well closed fleece is di- 

 vided into small sections, which 

 are tabular or flat and smooth 

 upon the surface ; when the fleece is uneven in length, it cannot 

 close well, and a few fibers only are matted together ; the surface 

 is then dotted and not smooth ; this forms the defect known as 

 " toppiness" The defects in wool may be enumerated as follows : 



" Stripy " or Watery Wool, generally shows itself in inferior ani- 

 mals on or near the shoulder, where the best wool ought to be. 

 The wool subject to this defect is devoid of those beautiful natu- 

 ral curves or waves which are characteristic of really good wool. 

 When compressed in the hand, it has no elasticity, and handles in 

 a dead and lifeless manner, more like flax than wool. Such wool 

 is only fit for making inferior goods. This defect is a sure 

 proof of impure blood, and no sheep exhibiting it should be bred 

 from. 



Toppiness is not of much importance as affecting the quality of 

 the wool, but it indicates a defect in the breeding of the sheep. It 

 has already been described. When this defect, however, extends 

 to a matting together of the wool at the ends of the points, a 

 quantity of noils are made in working the wool, and there is a 

 waste. When toppiness is found in the fleece of old sheep, it be- 

 comes a more serious objection, as it is quite possible that a lamb's 

 fleece may be toppy by reason of uneven growth in its early life, 

 and after having once been shorn, the defect may not reappear. 



Broad-topped Wool is seriously defective, and very decidedly 

 reduced in value ; no animal having this defect should be kept in 

 a flock having any pretentions to character for excellence. It 

 consists in an interlacing of the ends of the fibers which are split 

 from the top downwards. The fleece appears in good condition 

 superficially, with a good even top, but the surface is divided into 



