Wool Production 231 
runs from 40 to 50 per cent. Necessarily this shrinkage 
must be a tremendous factor in determining the value of 
_grease wools. Especially is this true when wools of the 
same fineness and from the same ranch will vary several 
per cent from year to year. 
Color and character. 
The color of the wool in the grease is one of the ear- 
marks by which the quality of wool is judged. Usually 
the brighter the wool is in the grease, the better it will 
scour out. The general usefulness of wool depends on 
its scouring properties. Wools that are heavy in grease, 
aged wool, wools packed damp, and wools that contain 
red soil do not scour well and for this reason they are less 
valuable. The brightest part of the fleece is the flesh 
side. Because of this fact fleeces are tied flesh side out. 
Another factor by which the quality of wool is judged is 
character. Wool of high character is that which is 
regular in fiber and staple, free from kemp, and has a firm 
elastic touch. Mushy wool, or dry, harsh, brittle wool 
lacks character. The spinning properties of wool are 
affected directly by its character. Careless breeding in- 
variably results in wool of low character. 
Paint. 
Common paint brands injure the wool very much, as 
paint will not come off in the scouring process. The 
loss from paint is shown by the following test made by a 
prominent manufacturer to be about three cents a pound, 
due to the following factors : labor of cutting off the paint ; 
loss of the painted wool; lowering the grade of the clipped 
wool because shortened by cutting off the ends; and the 
danger that all the specks of paint may not be removed, 
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