326 



THE WOOL CROP 



market jute products, called wool twine, which are not at all 

 satisfactory. They are so loose and rough that many of the fibers 

 cling to the wool and cause defects in the goods. Undoubtedly 

 the wool trade the world over will institute a war against this 

 type of twine. These so-called wool twines are also unnecessarily 

 heavy. The best wool buyers object to excessive size and length 

 of string. A well-known wool house in the middle west informed 

 the writer that they had removed more than one pound of tvrine 

 from a single fleece. The use of so much cheap stufE amounts to 



unfair packing. It is not 

 necessary to wrap the string 

 more than three times around 

 the fleece — twice is usually 

 sufficient — and the size of the 

 string should be no greater 

 than needed to give it the 

 strength to stand the strain 

 of drawing it in tightly on the 

 wool for the purpose' of tying. 

 As stated above, it should not 

 be more than one-eighth inch 

 in diameter. India three-ply 

 size No. 4I/2 is a type suitable 

 for tying wool; so are the 

 paper wool twines. Some of 

 the latter, however, are stiff, 

 and therefore difficult to tie in 

 a firm, hard knot that will not slip and release the wool. In 

 selecting from them care should be taken to secure a kind that is 

 soft and pliable (Fig. 202). 



" Packing and Storing. — When packing, the fleeces of ewes, 

 lambs, rams, and wethers should be packed separately. In small 

 flocks it is hardly advisable to pack them in separate bags, but 

 they can be separated in the bag by sheets of stiff, strong paper 

 so that they can be easily sorted at the market. A bag containing 

 a certain kind or kinds of wool should be marked so that its con- 

 tents are known. Tags and wool from dead sheep should be 

 packed separately. 



Fig. 202. — Wool twine. A, taken from a 

 fleece and showing the use of an excessive quan- 

 tity. B, showing the proper kind and quantity 

 to use in tying a fleece. (From Illinois Sta- 

 tion Circular 161.) 



