WOOL-SORTING 59 



sheep. The wool on the back is not so dense as that from the 

 shoulders and sides, and is inclined to be open. This is very 

 noticeable when the sheep are on dry, sandy pastures such as 

 northern South Australia, and Broken Hill District of New South 

 Wales. The number of qualities that combing wool is usually 

 assorted into is as follows : 



Fine Merino. Consisting of a very fine Merino wool of 7o's quality. In 

 some top-making establishments they make lines of 8o's and loo's 

 quality, but they are sorted out of special lots of wool. 



Merino. Consisting of Merino combing wools of 6o's and 64*3 quality. 



Comeback. Consisting of combing wool of 58*3 quality. This quality is 

 generally obtained from Cross-bred sheep that have been bred back to 

 the Merino side, hence the name Comeback. 



^-Bred. Consisting of combing wool of 56*5 quality, and obtained from fine 

 Cross-bred sheep bred similarly to the Comeback, the wool being a shade 

 stronger. 



i-Bred. Consisting of combing wool of 50*5 quality. This wool is just 

 between the quality of the Lincoln or Leicester and the Merino, and is 

 grown on the average sheep of that cross, though a good many of the 

 progeny of this first cross will grow wool which resembles the sire more 

 than the ewe. 



f-Bred. Consisting of all combing wool of 46*5 quality. This is obtained from 

 Cross-bred sheep, a shade coarser woolled than the J-bred. A Lincoln ram 

 crossed with a first cross ewe will in most cases produce progeny growing 

 a wool of this quality. 



Lincoln or Leicester, etc. Consisting of combing wools of 40*5 quality. 

 This is obtained from the average English long-woolled breeds. 



Cowtail. Consisting of comb wool of 36*3 to 32*3 quality. The latter quality 

 is usually obtained from Lincoln, Cotswold, and other long-woolled sheep 

 that have very coarse fleeces. The average well-bred Lincoln ram has 

 a fleece of 40*5 quality, and the britch end of the fleece will generally be 

 a 36's to 32*5 quality, as the britch wool is generally coarser than the 

 other portions of the fleece. 



The above are most of the English qualities that combing wool 

 is sorted into. In some places the sorts may be called by diffe- 

 rent names, but the qualities are about the same. 



As I have mentioned before, the sorter has to make a clear 

 wool, that is, a wool free from burr and other vegetable matter, 

 also a light and a heavy burry line. Thus he will have several 

 types of wool of the same quality. Tender wools are generally 

 sorted into qualities by themselves, as are the short-stapled wools. 



