CHAPTER XL. 



THE FLEECE AND ITS EXAMINATION. 



The quality of wool fiber is shown in its degree of fine- 

 ness, in its crimp, its uniformity through the fleece, and its 

 freedom from kemp or gare. Wool differs greatly in its 

 fineness, of which Hawkesworth gives twelve different de- 

 grees.' The finest grades are produced by the Merino, and 

 measurements have been made by various persons showing 

 a diameter of fiber of over one two-thousandths (%ooo) of 

 an inch. However, a diameter of one-thousandth of an 

 inch is fine. The fiber of the long wool such as Cotswold, 

 that measures a diameter of one four-hundredth of an inch, 



represents the 

 coarsest grade. The 

 wool on the same 

 sheep varies in de- 

 gree of fineness. 

 The finest wool is 

 found over the 

 shoulder and side, 

 and the coarsest 

 over the hindquar- 

 ter, especially the 

 thigh, and on the 

 belly. 



The fleece refers 

 to the entire cover- 

 ing of wool on the 

 sheep and this con- 

 m„ OQ5 "rru fl i , ■ ^ ., ^, sists of locks or 



Fig. 233. — "The finest wool is found over tbe 



shoulder and side." grOUpS 01 fibers 



* Australian Sheep and Wool, 1906, p. 218. 



426 



