1885.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



519 



that of the rapid increase of the fine woolled flocks growers has not yet been directed so particularly 

 in New South Wales, which bid fair, at no very' 

 remote period, to supply the whole demand of 

 this country. 



We shall now proceed to slate some of the 

 principal requisites, which are indispensably ne- 

 cessary to constitute good wool. These are: — 



1. The length of the staple; for this regulates 

 the various fabrics to which the fleece is destined. 

 Thus, in carding wool, a short pile, and a disposi- 

 tion to assume a crumpled, or spring-like shape, 

 is an object of prime importance. This shrivel- 

 ling quality, Mr. Luccock remarks,* cannot pre- 

 vail in too high a degree, if it be to make cloths 

 requiring; a close and smooth surface: but for 

 cloths where a long and even nap is required, too 

 large a proportion of this curling property he con- 

 ceives would be detrimental; and consequently a 

 long pile or staple will be preferable. There is, 

 however, a certain point, beyond which, if the 

 crumpling quality proceeds, the wool becomesless 

 valuable, on account of the superior length of the 

 curves, which render it difficult to break the staple 

 sufficiently. The distribution of the hairs in this 

 staple has been compared to that of the grain in a 

 very crooked piece of timber, or to waved bars of 

 metal, so formed that the convex part of one fits 

 into the concavity of another; and this peculiar 

 property cannot be communicated to wool where 

 it does not naturally exist. 



2. Pliability of wool is another important qual- 

 ity to which the attention of the grower should be 

 directed; as, without this elasticity, it will be unfit 

 for the purposes of manufacture. 



3. The peculiar property, termed the felting 

 quality, is of equal importance with the preceding; 

 and, though not evident to the eye, is in fact indis- 

 pensably requisite in all wools which are wrought 

 up into such cloths as are submitted to the action 

 of the fulling-mill. Mr. Luccock describes it as 

 "a tendency in the pile, when submitted to a mod- 

 erate heat, combined with moisture, to cohere to- 

 gether, and form a compact and pliable sub- 

 stance."* This valuable property is possessed in 

 a high degree by the Spanish sheep; and, accord- 

 ing to Mr?Luccock's opinion, the Cheviot, Morf, 

 and Norfolk fleeces are the best adapted for the 

 purposes of fulling. 



4. A soft pile is also an essential requisite to 

 constitute a good fleece. In this, as well as in the 

 other properties already enumerated, the Saxon 

 and the New South Wales wools peculiarly ex- 

 cel;! and among the British fleeces, those ofShet- 

 land stand unrivalled in this respect. 



5. The specific 'gravity, or relative weight of 

 the pile is a quality to which the attention of wool 



*In his valuable treatise on 

 perties ot Wool," p. 147. 

 tTreatise on Wool, p. 161. 

 X See page 285. 



'The Nature and Pro- 



as the subject requires. In order to ascertain the 

 comparative weight of different samples, Mr. Luc- 

 cock directs each of them to be brought as nearly 

 as possible to the same degree of purity, to expel 

 all the moisture which wool obstinately retains, 

 and extract all the air contained in the interstices 

 of the staple. J 



6. The smell of the wool is not a property to 

 which much weight can attach: provided no disa- 

 greeable odors are emitted, or any of the effects of 

 moisture are exhibited, no one scent can be prefer- 

 able to another. 



7. In color, it is essential that wool should, as 

 far as possihle, be perfectly white. 



8. The last property to which the attention of 

 the growers of wool should be directed, is trueness 

 of hair, or a uniform regularity of pile, in which 

 no coarse, shaggy hairs are perceptible; as the 

 latter, by reason of their brittle nature, will very 

 materially affect the progress of the manufacturer. 

 Such coarse hairs, as well as kemps ovstichel hairs, 

 (which are generally short, brittle, pointed, 

 opaque, and of a gray or brownish cast,) are 

 found principally in neglected breeds. Since, 

 however, the art of combining the properties of 

 the parent sheep in their offspring has been gene- 

 rally known, the expert grower of wool has been 

 enabled to produce surprising alterations in the re- 

 lative weight and fineness of the fleece. 



In countries where wool is the chief object in 

 the breeding and management of sheep, every 

 other consideration is sacrificed to its improve- 

 ment; but in England, the carcass is generally of 

 greater importance than the fleece, and the weight 

 of mutton has of late years been more attended to 

 than fineness of wool. In this, the farmer has 

 doubtless found his account; but they are objects 

 which cannot be combined with equal advantage 

 to both; and the consequence has been, that while 

 the size of the principal breeds of our short-wool- 

 led sheep, and the weight of the fleece have been 

 gradually increased, a proportionate deterioration 

 has been occasioned in the quality of the wool. 



The fact has, indeed, been denied by the breed- 

 ers; but evidence, entitled to so much confidence 

 as to be apparently conclusive, has been produced 

 before the Committee of the House of Lords, al- 

 ready alluded to, establishingit, generally, beyond 

 the possibility of doubt; as will fully appear from 

 the following tables, selected from the evidence of 

 many emiient wool dealers and manufacturers, 

 and extracted from the Minutes. This, however, 

 cannot apply to the long- woolled breeds, which in 

 point of profit to the grazier, and of national va- 

 lue, rank among the very first. The length of the 

 fleece not only gives a large weight, but the 

 strength of the staple, and even its coarseness, are 

 materially serviceable in the manufacture of car- 

 petting and blankets. 



* Treatise on Wool, p. 173. 



