6O MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



fall short of the standard of good wool in all its essen- 

 tial characteristics. Especially is this true in the less 

 degree of the strength of fiber in the wool and the lack 

 of uniformity in the strength of the same. The contrast 

 is even more marked in the unevenness of the length of 

 the wool as distributed over the body and in the varia- 

 tions in the quality of the same. In the latter sense these 

 variations are so marked that the covering on some parts 

 of the body is wool, and on other parts of the same it 

 bears a closer resemblance to hair. In the improved 

 breeds, hair is almost entirely wanting, save on the legs 

 and head, and the amount of this covering on the parts 

 named differs much in the different breeds. 



Discussion of fiber in wool Fiber in wool means 

 each distinct filament of which the fleece that is, the 

 covering of the sheep is composed. Each fiber is usually 

 essentially circular in form, more or less crimped or 

 waved, and in many instances is larger at the extremity 

 and near the base than in the center of the fiber. This 

 is not true, however, of Merino wool of the first grade. 

 When grown in temperate climates the fibers are essen- 

 tially circular in form, but when grown in a hot climate 

 they incline to a flattish oval. Crimp means deviation 

 from straight growth in the wool fibers (see page 78). In 

 some instances it takes the form of folding, as it were, of 

 the fiber on itself, and in other instances a wavy or spiral 

 character of growth. Climates unduly cold may eliminate 

 crimp, and those unduly hot may tend to make it exces- 

 sive. The greater size of the diameter at the base and 

 toward the tips of the wool fibers arises probably from the 

 less friction in the fibers at these points. 



When the animal is healthy and thrifty, the appear- 

 ance of the fiber is brilliant. It has a shining, glistening 

 appearance when the wool is parted on any part of the 

 body of the sheep. This bright lustrous appearance is 

 caused by the yolk, which, exuding from the glands of the 

 skin moves on toward the tips of the hairs and keeps them 



