90 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



course, not equal in value with wool possessed of even 

 length of fiber. Broad toppiness, means the division of 

 the wool into broad masses or tops, caused by the inter- 

 lacing of the fibers, which are to some extent split from 

 the top downwards. Such a condition is objectionable, 

 viewed from the standpoint of the manufacturer. 



Black top means the gluing together of the wool 

 fibers over much of the body so as to render it almost 

 impervious to rain. It extends the whole length of the 

 fleece, and is densest along the back, but occurs more or 

 less on the sides. It hinders the extension of the crimp 

 to the extremities of the fibers, such as is found in a per- 

 fect fleece. If the sheep are much confined in winter it 

 becomes separated into masses or lumps. Each of these, 

 tipping more or less of the fibers, becomes exceedingly 

 hard, and, in proportion, they impair the value of wool. 

 The worst form of clot is gray shoulder clot, which is 

 somewhat akin to blacktop, but exceeds it in degree. It 

 occurs at the withers and frequently extends half way 

 down the shoulders and more or less along the backbone. 

 In a short-fibered fleece, the locks will be glued together 

 in some instances for half their length, and will be about 

 as hard as stone. The influence of all these conditions, 

 with reference to its bearing on the manufacture of the 

 wool, will be readily perceived. These defects are chiefly 

 if not entirely confined to the Merino types of sheep. 



These conditions are all traceable more or less to 

 inheritance, but they are also influenced by food and 

 management, though not equally so. Food and manage- 

 ment may not be able to influence in any marked degree 

 the unevenness in the fibers that leads to toppiness, but 

 it may influence in a marked degree gray shoulder clot, 

 if caused by a feeble circulation and if aggravated by 

 rain and washing out the softer parts of the yolk and 

 allowing the residuum to gum the locks together. 



In so far as these defects are the outcome of inherit- 

 ance, they can largely be prevented by selection. In so 



