Merino-By eland Breed of Sheep. 45 1 



the fleece to have weiglied one or two pounds more than the sum stated. Let us, 

 however, take it as it stands; then 20I. 18s. 2d-]-, divided by 53, will give 

 7s. 10-jd. per lb. for the average value of the wool in all its parts in the clean 

 state, and 3s. ii^d. per lb. for the same wool in the full yolk. If, therefore, the 

 fleeces weigh, on an average, 51b. the value of each will be 19s, Bdid. ; and so in 

 proportion for a greater or less weight. 



This is the price which the manufacturer ought to give for the finest Merino- 

 Ryeland fleece wool in the full yolk, when Spanish Refina is at its present value 

 of 6s. gd. per lb ; receiving, at the same time, an a"owance for the expences of 

 sorting, scouring, picking, and drying. All these operations are, in a certain de- 

 gree, necessary to Spanish wool of commerce itself; but not to the same extent as 

 to our wool in the yolk. The sorting does not cost 2d. per lb. of the clean wool; 

 and the scouring being accomplished only with the yolk of the wool, and one of 

 the vilest of substances, urine, must be sufficiently cheap. If we suppose the whole 

 superior expense of the operation, labour, fire, and all materials included, to be 

 4-id. per lb. of the clean, and 2^6, per lb. of the raw wool, then the value of the 

 former will be 7s. 6d. per lb. and of the latter 3s. gd. through the whole fleece; and 

 a fleece weighing 5 lb. will be worth 18s. gd. and so in proportion. 



What the calculation ought to be with regard to the same wool washed on the 

 sheep's back before shearing, I am unable to say, having had no experience of this 

 kind with regard to any of my finest wool. All conclusions in this method must, 

 indeed, be extremely inaccurate, as every thing depends on the mode and degree 

 of washing, which is a gross operation, and must vary the cleanness of the fleece in 

 a much greater degree than the accidental differences of season, or acquired filth 

 under careful management. In the calculations which I have made of the waste 

 of the wool in the yolk, all these differences are more than allowed for ; especially 

 when it is considered that, in every case specified, the scouring has been performed 

 on small quantities, and must, therefore, have been more wasteful than if it had 

 • been conducted on a large scale. 



In order farther to illustrate the value of Merino-Ryeland wool, of the best 

 quality, let us now ascertain to what extent it reaches, when scoured, in the 

 manufacture itself, comparatively with Spanish wool of commerce. — Here, as on 

 former occasions, let us resort for information to actual experiments. 



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