232 Western Live-stock Management 



thus making the wool unsafe to use for the finer cloths. 

 On the ranges sheep must be branded, and there is no 

 brand known that will remain a whole year and yet scour 

 out perfectly ; therefore it is necessary to use some brand 

 such as Kemp's Australian Branding Fluid and brand 

 twice a year. 



PACKING WOOL 



To bring a good price, wool must be tied with paper 

 twine and packed in clean bags. Sisal or common jute 

 twines are very detrimental, as particles of fiber come off 

 in the wool, and since sisal or jute will not take wool dyes, 

 these particles must be picked out by hand. Even then, 

 the danger of leaving some particles is so great that such 

 wool cannot be used for the finest grades of fabrics. Paper 

 twine, on the other hand, sheds very few particles in the 

 wool, and such particles are readily dissolved out in the 

 scouring process. Burlap bags also shed some particles 

 into the wool. In some countries the growers singe the 

 interior of the bags or use bags lined with paper. 



Another serious problem to the buyer is the practice of 

 packing all kinds of wool in one sack. Thousands of 

 sacks of wool are marketed containing some fine medium 

 wool, some one-quarter blood, some braid, some tags, 

 and some black wool. The buyer who wants one kind 

 does not desire the others, and when forced to buy them 

 pays a proportionately lower price. Wools of different 

 kinds should be put into different bags and sold accord- 

 ingly. Especially, should the black wool be packed sep- 

 arately. Black wool is worth as much as white and for 

 some purposes more, but a few fleeces of black in a bag 

 will lower the value of the whole, since such wool cannot 



