Show are greater x ater length of wool staple pos possibilities ties of increasing A average fleece weight by new method rad by the th united states of profitable production depends to a considerable extent oo on the weight of fleeces A century ago the average annual neece fleece weight tor for woot wool in the united states was less than two pounds but there has been a gradual increase in the weights of fleeces for american sheep until now the annual average la Is about seven and one half pounds of increase 1 there are still possibilities of in creasing the average fleece weight a considerable amount says D A spencer who Is in charge of the sheep and wool investigational work of the united states department of agriculture the ahe increate Inc increase so 80 far has been brought about he says by the die use of well bred bd heavy shearing breeding rains the lie culling of interior inferior light shearing bhain ang L wes better feeding and improved methods of management further progress resa can still be made by these methods but they wilt will need to be applied in a more inure exact and scientific way ila ho hays the department has just completed 0 1 year study of the different factors which influence tho the weight of fleeces of 0 sheep under ranee conditions it finds that while both length of 0 staple and density of the fleece influence tile the weight of clean marketable wool length of staple Is of consider considerably aby more importance than ilen ilens sity lly because of the greater value alue per pound of the longer staple leverage for increase also length of 0 staple offers a much greater leverage pr fi increasing tile acee fleece weights thun selection for density fleeces havi j k a staple over 3 lincies in length wore were 22 per tent cent heavier than the average while fleeces inning it density 01 0 per cent of per feet yielded only about 2 per cent n nt more those of average vertigo si density the aitio result of these shuw that bre bleeders breeders eders ton can satis sails factory density while they are breed ink ing for greater length of staple in III bouillet fleeces fleece |