Comparison of Wools Between and Within Several Breeds of Sheep

Abstract

Wools produced from five widely differing breeds of sheep which were raised under the same environmental and dietary conditions have been studied. By means of stress-strain analysis of wet fibers, certain mechanical properties have been evaluated and differences shown to exist among the several breeds, independently of differences in fineness among the wools. Wools from individual animals within breeds were also found to differ significantly in mechanical properties. The dependency of mechanical properties on the fineness of wool has been found to vary in a manner which indicates that crimp in the fiber strongly influences mechanical properties. Crimpy wools tend to have a negative dependency of mechanical properties on diameter, whereas the low-crimped wools tend to have a positive dependency of mechanical properties on diameter. Correlations have been established between the various properties studied, and high interdependencies have been found.