IO 



Handling of British Wool. 



grown wool is still worth over ^4,000,000 of money. The 

 dealers in wool have no more influence over the price than they 

 have over the weather, and it seems extraordinary that a com- 

 modity like this should be treated as if it were a bye-product 

 when at the same time we are importing and using such 

 large quantities of wool from abroad. Surely our own 

 product should be worth a proper amount of consideration. 



With regard to the practical points in the getting up of 

 wool it should be observed : — 



(1) That sheep should be washed without any artificial 

 assistance — that is to say, they should be washed in cold 

 water without any soap, except the natural soap which exudes 

 from the skin in sufficient quantity at this time of the year. 



(2) The sheep should not be allowed to run too long after 

 washing before being clipped, as this in effect brings the wool 

 back into greasy condition. 



(3) Nor should they be clipped while wet, as this takes 

 away the liveliness from the fibre and causes the wool to rot. 



(4) They should not be clipped in dirty places, such as 

 barns littered with chaff and straw and other matters which 

 get into the staple and cause endless trouble and annoyance. 

 The cost of this fault to the user is far more serious than 

 growers think, as it is often impossible to get this foreign 

 matter out without the use of chemicals. 



(5) When the fleece is wound no earth or dung should be 

 left on the fleece, or allowed to get in whilst winding. 



(6) No locks, tailings, skin wool, black, or cots should be: 

 wrapped up inside fleeces, neither should greasy wool he 

 wrapped up inside washed fleeces. 



(7) The fleeces should be tied up with bands made by 

 twisting a portion of the fleece itself. It is not necessary 

 for these bands to be tightly twisted, the object being merely 

 to keep one fleece separate from another. Strings composed 

 of vegetable matter, such as hemp, jute, etc., are bad, and 

 ought not to be used. 



The most careful manipulation by the manufacturer often 

 fails to detect small pieces of string, which do not make then- 

 appearance until the cloth is dyed, because the dyes which 

 are required for wooL will not do for vegetable matter. 



