Physical analysis of the fleece of sheep for biological purposes. III. A means of measurement of fibre-length distribution of fleece wool

Abstract

It is suggested that in a staple of Merino wool only the fibres extending from near the base to near the tip should be considered in a number of important biological problems. Equipment has been built by which the straightened length of these fibres can be measured individually, with a considerable saving in time as compared with the usual manual method. Length analyses of a number of samples by mechanical and manual methods are compared. It is shown that these length analyses may be used for analysis of crimp depth, provided a definite crimp form is assumed.