Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1886 [PAGE 240]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

232

These relations are by no means absolute but they agree closely with the results of our determinations and measurements. It must be observed, however, that while these are the indications afforded by the averages of our results and therefore establish a general rule, they do not altogether agree with those obtained for individual samples. It frequently happens that there is no relation whatever between the fineness of the fibre and its crimp, so that a grade made upon this indication alone might be exceedingly irregular as regards this quality of fineness. There seems also to be some relation between the density of the fleece and the fineness of the fibre. Thus in a series of samples from two sets of fleeces, the one set being much closer or more dense than the other, the following results were obtained in centimillimetres, by measurement of fineness. For the dense fleeces: Earns, 2.151; ewes, 2.119; Loose fleeces: Earns, 1.916; ewes, 1.974. The loose fleece therefore appears to produce the finer wool. Of course these results were obtained from only a limited number of samples and can only be an indication of what may be expected from further study in the same direction, but the fact is worthy of the attention of growers of fine wools. One other consideration relative to fineness and we must have it. This is the relation of the section of the country in which the wool is grown to this quality. In the later part of our work it was deemed desirable to apply the methods of investigation already devised to this question. To this end collections of samples of merino wool were made from as nearly as possible all the wool growing sections of the United States, the principal aim being to secured material from animals directly descended from the pure Vermont stock. The earlier work had shown that the highest degree of fineness was attained at about the age of two years, and contributors were requested to send samples from animals of this age and from as near the shoulder as possible. Twenty samples from rams and twenty samples from ewes were taken in each locality, and this number was believed to sufficiently represetit the average of the entire flocks* Samples were thus secured from all the states named below, and presumably represented the best wools obtainable. The figures of the following table are averages of all the measurements taken for each State, and are represented in centimillimetres and ten thousandths of an inch:

rWHmilH ! | < ; ;

T e n

thOUS-

me^s

•mcLxeo. Pennsylvania Texas California Illinois Vermont New York Wisconsin 1.711 1.837 1-883 1.902 1.979 2.034 2.048

landthsofan

inch. 6.729 7.226 7.407 7 782 7.801 8.034 8.085

, .-.; i ! i

The variation in these figures is by no means wide scarcely sufficiently decided to lead to the conclusion that fluence whatever is had upon this quality by the several sections. The differences may have been due to diffeiences

and is any indifferent of judg-