22 BULLETIN 206, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



are next best, and the quality decreases passing backward until 

 the "britch" is reached, which is the coarsest part of all. The wool 

 from the back is likely to contain hayseed or chaff, and it is not 

 of as good quality or strength as that from the shoulder. It is 

 also often shorter. The belly wool is usually finer than any, but it 

 is short, "frowzy," is not so strong, and it lacks character. The wool 

 from over the head is short, coarse, and in the black-faced breeds is 

 likely to contain black fibers. Modern machinery could probably 

 handle these different qualities of wool in the same lot, but more 

 uniform yarn can be made and the wool spun to a finer thread if it 

 is sorted, hence it is an economical advantage to do the sorting. 

 The work is not as exacting as it once was; as a rule not as many 

 sorts are made now as formerly. 



The sorting is done over a table that has either a slatted or wire- 

 mesh top, so that the dirt will fall through. The fleeces are untied, 

 shaken out, and piled up beside the table and then passed over the 

 board. A good light is necessary to do the work properly. 



The number of sorts made from a fleece or from a bag of wool and 

 the quantity of each will naturally vary with the quality of the wool, 

 the mill where the sorting is done, and the goods for which the wool 

 is intended. Ordinarily four to five major sorts would take care of 

 the bulk of the wool, along with as many more off sorts. There is 

 no uniform system of designating the sorts; each mill uses its own 

 names or numbers. 



The regular sorts are made mainly upon quality and length. A 

 little extra length will sometimes cause wool to be thrown higher 

 because of resulting higher spinning qualities. Often the best of a 

 sort, the longer wool, will be separated and used for warp, as a stronger 

 yarn is needed for this purpose than for filling. The off sorts are 

 usually something out of the ordinary. In a worsted mill they are 

 sold for other purposes, as they can not be manufactured on the 

 worsted system. 



RESULTS OF SORTING A SAMPLE BAG OF WOOL. 



The percentage of the various sorts may vary considerably. The 

 proportion of the main sort varies from 50 to 80 per cent of the 

 weight of a lot of fleeces of a common grade. This is because the 

 quality, condition, and length of the different wools vary, and the 

 dealers' and millmen's ideas concerning grades are not always the 

 same. The market conditions and the quality of the goods into 

 which the wool is to be made may also influence the sorting. 



The following is the record of an actual case of sorting a bag of 

 wool, showing the weight, percentage, and value per pound of each 

 sort. This bag contained fleeces that had been graded in the ware- 



