THE RUMINANT ORDER. 265. 
Elasticity is also most desirable, for without it wool could not be 
used in the manufacture of milled cloths. 
Most of the properties we have just pointed out are due to the 
greasy matter which penetrates more or less the animal’s coat. 
This lubricating substance is of a very complex nature, its com- 
position varying in different breeds. The yolk, for so it is called, 
is more or less fluid and oily, and is secreted by small glands 
peculiar to the skin of this race. 
When the yolk abounds, it communicates to the wool both 
softness and pliability ; if it is thick and strongly coloured, it 
imparts to the wool a rough and coarse feel, which necessitates a 
special process of cleansing or scouring. 
Wool is naturally either white, brown, or black. Those 
of the two last-named colours are less appreciated than the 
first. 
The best wool is found on the sides of the animal’s body, from 
the shoulders to the croup, and underneath as far as the line of 
the lowest part of the belly. 
On the lower part of the belly, where the fleece is less thick 
(in fact, wanting altogether in some varieties), the locks of wool 
are felted together, and short, because they are often crushed when 
the animal lies down. 
On the back, the croup, and the top of the thighs, the regularity 
and uniformity of the locks both diminish, nor does it possess 
either the mellowness or the pliability of that on the sides. The 
wool both on the upper and lower parts of the neck is frequently 
found weak and pendent ; that on the head and front of the chest 
is generally rougher and harsher, as well as being irregular in 
length and very wavy. The wool on the withers is almost always 
coarse ; that on the ends of the limbs frequently valueless. 
Let us now turn to the various breeds of Sheep. M. Sanson, in 
his work on Zootechnie , classes the ovine race in two categories: 
— The long-woolled breed, that is, with long- stapled wool, straight, 
or merely waved ; and the short-woolled breed, that is, those with 
more closely-curled wool. 
In the long-woolled breed the fleece is comparatively of small 
value in a manufacturing point of view, these varieties being 
specially devoted to the production of food. We will mention 
the principal breeds of this kind. 
