314 OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 294 



TALBE II INFLUENCE OF WASHING ON RATE OF GAIN 



*One sheep died April 22, 1912; weight 60 pounds. 



INFLUENCE OF TIME OF SHEARING ON YIELD OF GREASE 

 WOOL AND OF SCOURED WOOL 



Everyone who is experienced in handling sheep has noted that 

 when the weather gets warm in the spring, wool on the sheep be- 

 comes more greasy. One explanation of this is that during the cold 

 winter months the yolk is harder and not as noticeable as it is after 

 the warm weather has softened it into a more nearly liquid form, 

 giving the wool a greasy feel and appearance, although there is 

 thought to be no more oil actually present than there was during 

 the winter. The more commonly accepted explanation, however, is 

 that the coming of warm weather results in the presence of more 

 yolk in the fleece, due to increased activity of the sebaceous glands 

 or of the sweat glands, or of both. It is because of this belief that 

 many sheepmen do not like to begin shearing until the weather 

 becomes warm enough to "bring out the grease." The data pre- 

 sented in Table I furnish evidence to support the latter explanation. 



From the figures in Table I, showing the average yield per head 

 of grease wool for the 2 years, 1912 and 1913, it may be seen that 



