WOOL-CLASSING 117 



as the free when viewed from the cut end of staples. The picker- 

 up should always reverse his boards, so that the right side of the 

 fleece is uppermost. The good, free lambs' wool can be seen at 

 once and taken out correctly and quickly. You then have the 

 burry wool, also the stains and locks, left. The two latter sorts 

 are then taken away from the burry wool, and you will now have 

 divided the fleece into three sorts, consisting of firsts, seconds, 

 and stained lambs' and locks. The classer should, when possible, 

 have the firsts of every fleece brought up to him. He can then 

 class each fleece himself, placing it in the fine or coarse, or pure- 

 bred long wool, such as Lincoln, etc., or Super lambs', if he is 

 making a class of that wool. When he has got the lamb-sorters 

 sorting to his satisfaction he will have no trouble, as his portion 

 of the work will consist of classing the firsts of each fleece brought 

 to him into the qualities I have mentioned, or any other that he 

 thinks necessary to make. The instructions to the shed hands, 

 telling them how to distinguish the different qualities, will be 

 unnecessary if he is putting his fine and coarse seconds together. 

 If, on the other hand, he is making two lines of these sorts, it will 

 be necessary for them to know the qualities he desires each sort 

 kept at. The classer should go around and look at the seconds 

 and thirds occasionally, to see that the sorters are not letting 

 any good wool go into these lines. 



CLASSING FARMERS' AND GRAZIERS' LOTS. 



Owing to the large number of big estates that are being cut up, 

 there is a greatly increased number of small lots of wool, grown by 

 farmers and small graziers, being sent to Melbourne, Sydney, and 

 other selling centres. 



If farmers wish to get good prices for their wool they must be 

 careful how they prepare it for the market. I have frequently 

 seen lots of eight or nine bales containing fleece wool, locks, 

 stains and dags in fact, everything shorn from the sheep, just 

 picked up off the shearing board and thrown in the bale together. 

 Some farmers keep the locks separate, but roll the bellies and 



