FOR MUTTON AND WOOL 121 



cents less than one that is strong throughout. To test 

 the soundness of a fiber in addition to knowing it by the 

 character of the crimp, a small lock of wool is taken be- 

 tween the fingers and stretched evenly and gently until 

 the unsoundness or the strength becomes apparent. The 

 wool may break at the bottom, having what is called 

 "weak bottoms," or it may have "weak middles" or "weak 

 tops," according to the location of the unsoundness. 

 Evenness of all the desirable characteristics should exist 

 over all parts of the fleece. The softness should be ap- 

 parent over all regions and fineness also, and the crimp 

 should in addition appear uniform throughout the fiber. 



174. Condition. The condition of the fleece refers 

 more to its purity, lustre, brightness and the quantity and 

 character of the yolk. The condition of a fleece results 

 mostly from correct breeding and proper management. 



175. Purity. Purity refers to the freedom of the 

 fleece from dead fibers and foreign matter. In fleeces that 

 are grown on sheep that are exposed to conditions un- 

 favorable to thrift, there is a natural tendency for the 

 fleece to revert to its original state ; that is, fibers of hair 

 begin to appear in it and these take the place of the wool. 

 Very often in fleeces grown by sheep that have been ex- 

 posed there will be found a great many dead fibers which 

 are technically spoken of as "kemp." These dead fibers 

 are very injurious to the fleece from the commercial 

 standpoint, because they do not absorb dyes, and in any 

 cloth that is made from such wool these dead fibers will 

 retain the white and hard appearance that they had in 

 the fleece. 



176. Domestic Wool. Based on the condition oi 

 the fleece the market makes a division of four kinds. 

 These are what is known as domestic wool, territory 

 wool, blanket wool and carpet wool. Domestic wools are 



