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 buver 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 
