SOMETHiyO ABOUT ^yOOL 



325 



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best and longest wool on the body is found over the shoulders 

 and ribs. The back and neck wool also rank high. That 

 on the bellj^ is very fair, but short, while that on the thighs 

 is the poorest. 



The length of fiber varies from one and a half to eight or 

 nine inches for a year's growth, the former for the fine or 

 short wools, the latter for the coarse or long wools. 



The fineness of fiber varies greatly, microscopical measure- 

 ments showing it to range 



from about ys-Vtt ^^ ^^ ^'^'^^ 

 with the finest Merino, to 

 ^J-j- of an inch with Cots- 

 wold or Lincoln. In the 

 British and some other mar- 

 kets the fineness of wool is 

 indicated by the nimiber of 

 times 560 yards, or 

 "counts," can be spun from 

 one pound of combed wool. 

 A 70's count, which repre- 

 sents IMcrino wool, means 

 that every pound of combed 

 wool maj' be spun 70 times 

 560 or 39,200 yards. 



The density of fleece al- 

 ludes to the thickness of 

 the wool fibers in a given 

 space on the body, as, for 

 example, a square inch. Naturally the finer the fiber the 

 denser the fleece. In some Merino fleeces as many as 60,000 

 fibers grow on a square inch of the body. Fineness of fiber 

 and density and weight of fleece are naturally associated. 



Trueness of fiber refers to its uniform condition from its 

 attachment to the skin to its tip. It must be uniform in 

 diameter, without any swellings or contractions. 





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Figure 139. — A fleece of wool. Photo- 

 graph by the author. 



