STUDY OF WOOL

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 242, 2 June 1932, Page 2

STUDY OF WOOL

F. W. Dry,

THE FLEECE OF THE SHEEP FIBRE BY FIBRE.

(By

, D.Sc.)

(Massey College Bulletin.) PART I. The hody of the sheep is covered by a forest of fibres. In the mass this covethyg may appear "just wool," coarser or finer, it is true, harsher or soft in handle, or hairy in vary- -• ing degree. These characteristics, which the wool elasser or sorter has great skill in apprisin'g by eye or hand, are judged by the subconscious averaging of impr,essions received from a mass of fibres. Not very mueh attention is paid in such an examination to the separate fibres, though the ' coarseness and hairiness of some indiVidual fibres constitute a feature for which the buyer is keenly watching. If from a staple showing a considerable degree of hairiness the longest fibres, which are the hairy ones, ' are drawn out, so that the specimen is divided into two portions, it is frequently shown that the undesirability of the sample is due to a comparatively small proportion of the total fibres present. Many Types. With detailed knowledge of the structure and life history of fibres, not two, but twenty or more types are to be recognised in the first year

fleece. To be able to perform this fine-grained wool-sorting is a gratification of the impulse for arderliness, satisfying the desire to put things in their right plac'es, but at the same time this power of analysis will make us more master of our material in seeking to 'exploit the coat of the sheep. We shall b© able to choose sheep on a basis of fuller infbrmation, and we may expect also to learn j ways of cultivating the perennial crop which the animal grows. In the present account the fibre types are considered especially from the point of view of selection in relation to hairiness. This research is showing what sort of hairy fibres to look for, , and the age of the animal at which each is to be detected. If it he shown that all things considered it is profitable to produce very hairy sheep, they would not be difficult to breed anyway, but I could offer advice on how to do it in thorough-going fashion. If it be desired to reduce or eliminate hairiness, a good deal of the knowledge gained is likely to prove pertinent. Reference should be made at the outset to the simple fact that fibres grow only at the extreme base, right down in the root or'follicle, below the surface of the skin. Onee formed, therefore, any part of the fibre "stays put," save for such wear and tear and bacterial action as may befall it. This means that if a portion of a fibre is made without medulla it will always remain pure wool. .If any part of a fibre is ever hairy, hairy it is before it emerges from the root.

Early Indicatidns. It will not occasion surprise that the hairiness of the first fleece can largely be judged at four months, and even at a very feW weeks much is to he learnt about the total desirability of the animal from the standpoint of hairiness. It is well knov/n that changes take place as one fleece follows another, but these alterations appear to take place in an orderly manner and not haphazardly. Our aim is therefore to foretell as far as possible in the early weeks or months of life how hairy future fleeces will b.e Selection would thus be made quicker and more eertain. As this investigation is concerned v/iH the dm olopment of the fleece, it deal" largely wit.i tbe 'hue aspeL-us of haiimess. I: Mr. Elphick's work on Ihe applica"; -u c£ the henzol test the emphasis is v 1 space rathe.* than time. He ,s conce1 v/.lh the disiribution of hairiness over the animal's; hody, with the choi *.e of reg.-ons for sampling with variations in hairiness within a region, and the number of specimens that must he examined from the same. part. Together we shall be able to say when, where and how to make tests. Indentification My colleague, Mr. Waters, has pointed out that my discrimination of fibre types may be looked upon as the counterpart in wool of the identification of the species and varieties of grasses. I am learning about the objects that grow on the animal's baek, facts of the sorts that in plants have proved so fruitful in pasture improvement. The fibre types of the first fleece will now he described. This account is based on special study of specimens from the middle of the baek of Romney lambs at the level of the last rib, but the deseription is broadly applicable to the great bulk of the coat. The story now related is a somewhat simplified oue, the object being to focus attention upoii the main groups of fibre types. Some hairy types are not always present, and some fibre types may or may not be hairy. This classifieation, besides being based on structural details, especially those of the tip, depends upon' answers to the f ollowing questiolis. When does a fibi'e start to grow? Does it grow in a root of its own, or does it follow an earlier fibre that has ceased to grow and is shed? Does a fibre grow for a limited time only, or does it grow for a much longer time, very likely throughout the natural lifetime of the sheep? (To be continued.)