Wool Production 233 
be used for making pure white and cream cloth on account 
of the danger of black fibers. 
The packing of wool for market is a subject that has 
commanded much interest and attention in our western 
range districts in the last few years. Wool experts have 
estimated that the wool-producing sections of the United 
States have been about thirty years behind in their 
methods of caring for the wool clip. Fortunately, this 
statement is becoming less correct every year, as much 
benefit has been derived from the work of wool journals, 
wool warehouses, and wool experts in educating the range 
wool-grower in the preparation of his clip for market. 
There are about three methods of wool packing in use in 
the wool-producing sections of this country; namely the 
old method of sacking the wool in the long burlap bags 
just as it is shorn, the system of grading and baling the 
wool as is advocated by the wool warehouses of this 
country, and the system used in the Australian shear- 
ing shed. 
In the discussion of any of these systems it is necessary 
to understand the meaning of such terms as grading, 
classing, sorting, and skirting. These terms have been 
used synonymously and have caused considerable con- 
fusion. In connection with the wool clip these terms are 
defined as follows: Grading is the placing of whole fleeces 
into different classes according to their indications as to 
breed and quality. Skirting is the removal of all stained, 
damaged, and inferior wool. In the Australian shed this 
is always done before the classing. Classing is the 
placing of skirted fleeces into different classes according to 
their length, quality, soundness, condition, and tint. 
Sorting is the dividing of the individual fleeces into separate 
parts according to their various spinning counts or fineness. 
