94 THE SHEEP AND WOOL INDUSTRY 



Quality is another very important thing that has to be taken into 

 consideration when classing. When the word " quality " is used 

 in the wool trade it generally refers to the diameter of the 

 fibre, viz., fineness or coarseness. Different wools have different 

 spinning qualities, and each quality is used for a different class 

 of material. A buyer who requires a fine Cross-bred wool for his 

 yarn or cloth does not want to purchase coarse, so wool, more 

 especially Cross-bred, requires to be classed into its respective 

 spinning qualities, or as near to them as possible, without making 



[_Photo by Author. 



CORRECT WAY TO HOLD STAPLE OF WOOL WHEN 

 TESTING FOR SOUNDNESS. 



the lines of wool too small. Cross-bred wool is classed mainly 

 on condition and quality. Before shearing, Cross-bred sheep 

 should be drafted into two or three sorts, say fine, medium, and 

 coarse-woolled sheep. This will make the work much easier for 

 the classer, and enable him to keep the low sorts, such as bellies, 

 pieces, and locks, even. On the other hand, if Cross-bred sheep, 

 growing wool of all qualities, are shorn together, you get wool of 

 every quality in the pieces, bellies, and locks, and it is very difficult 

 to get the average shed hand to grade them properly, as he 

 possesses little or no knowledge of wool qualities. 



