YOLK. 3 1 



one sense it is so to the manufacturer, from the uncertainty 

 as to the amount of loss sustained by cleansing. Hence it 

 is that the European manufacturer refuses to purchase 

 Spanish Merino wool, without being thoroughly washed 

 with soap, which is always performed after the fleece is 

 shorn, and even then the wool shrinks, by the manufacturer's 

 mode of cleansing, generally about 10 per cent. 



It has been observed that temperature has an influence in 

 determining the quantity of yolk; hence, the equable and 

 mild climate of Spain is favorable to its production; and 

 although the Escurial Merino is for the most part the parent 

 stock of the Saxony sheep, yet, from the opposite character 

 of the climate to that of Germany, it is found in a greatly 

 diminished quantity in Saxon fleeces. The Saxon Merino, 

 however, when kept in fair condition, has the requisite sup- 

 ply to give additional softness, pliability, and strength to the 

 fibre. 



On the authority of an English writer, the wools of several 

 breeds of sheep in the more southern part of the kingdom 

 abound in yolk in great abundance, so that a fleece, un- 

 washed on the back, will lose one-half of its weight by thor- 

 ough scouring. A deficiency of this substance is percepti- 

 ble as progress is made northward ; and in Northumberland 

 and Scotland, it is common for the farmers to supply its loss 

 by means of smearing the sheep, in autumn, with a mixture 

 of tar and oil, or butter, which will be more particularly no- 

 ticed hereafter. To confirm the propriety of this, as well 

 as afford additional testimony of the virtues of yolk, the fol- 

 lowing fact is quoted, recorded by Mr. Bakewell, the emi- 

 nent sheep breeder : — 



" An intelligent manufacturer in my neighborhood, who 

 kept a small flock of good wooled sheep, informed me he 

 had adopted the practice of rubbing the sheep with a mixture 

 of butter and tar. He could speak decidedly to the improve- 

 ment the wool had received by it, having superintended the 

 whole process of the manufacture. The cloth was superior 

 to what ungreased wool could have made, if equally fine ; it 

 was remarkably soft to the touch, and had a ' good hand and 

 feel,' the appearance of the threads being nearly lost in a 

 firm, even textur^e, covered with a soft, full nap." 



The additional value, then, the yolk imparts to the wool, 

 affords a useful lesson to the wool-grower, to take such care 

 of his sheep as will best supply the needful quantity. Equa 



