Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 519 



infusion of a small quantity of animal oil, and is in every respect a 

 true soap, which would permit of the fleece being thoroughly cleansed 

 by the ordinary mode of washing, were it not for the existence of 

 this an combined fatty or oily matter, which remains attached to the 

 wool, and renders it glutinous until subjected to the process of scouring 

 by the manufacturer. There are some, from ignorance, who imagine 

 the yolk or gum to be, if not absolutely a detriment to wool, at least 

 a useless concomitant. This, however, is a decided mistake. It is a 

 peculiar secretion from the glands of the skin, acting as one of the 

 agents in promoting the growth of the wool, and by its adhesiveness 

 matting it, and thereby forming a defence from the inclemency of the 

 weather. From accurate observation, it has been ascertained that a 

 deficiency of yolk will cause the fiber to be dry, harsh and weak, 

 and the whole fleece becomes thin and hairy. On the contrary, 

 when there is a natural supply the wool is soft, plentiful and strong. 

 The quantity depends on equability of temperature, the health of the 

 sheep and the proportion of nutritive food it receives. 



Although it is found in greater or less quantities in the fleeces of 

 almost every variety of sheep, such is its excess in the Merino breed, 

 that it causes dirt to collect on the surface to such a degree as to form 

 an indurated crust, with a hue resembling the thunder-cloud. This 

 excess, although, as already remarked, no way injurious to the fiber, 

 yet in one sense it is so to the manufacturer, from the uncertainty as 

 to the amount of loss by cleansing. Hence it is that the European 

 manufacturers refuse to purchase Spanish Merino wool without its 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 ten per cent. It has been observed 

 that temperature has an influence in determining the quality of yolk ; 

 hence, the equable and mild climate of Spain is favorable to its pro- 

 duction, and although the Escurial Merino is for the most part the 

 parent stock of the famous Saxon sheep, yet, from the opposite charac- 

 ter of the climate of Germany, it is found in a greatly diminished 

 quantity in their wool. The Saxon Merino, however, when kept in 

 fair condition, has the requisite supply to give additional softness, 

 pliability and strength to the fiber. The famous English breeder, 

 Mr. Bakewell, says : "An intelligent manufacturer in my neighbor- 

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

 had adopted the practice of rubbing the sheep with a mixture of stale 

 butter and tar. He could speak decidedly to the improvement the 

 wool had received by it, having superintended the whole process of 



