Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
DID YOU KNOW?
One pound (0.5 kg) of wool can make 10 miles (16.1 km) of yarn!
Some farm fl ocks specialize in wool-type sheep, others primarily in meat-
type sheep, but generally the trend is toward all-purpose breeds, which are
fairly good for both meat and wool production.
For many aspiring shepherds, part of their desire to get a fl ock of sheep
relates directly to knitting, spinning, weaving, and other fi ber-arts endeavors.
If this includes you, then handling and caring for wool becomes an important
consideration, whichever type of sheep you choose.
Wool Production
Wool is produced by follicles, which are cells located in the skin. There are
two types of follicles: primary and secondary. Skin is actually pretty complex
stuff. It's made up of two main layers — the epidermis, which is the thin,
surface layer, and the dermis, which is the thicker, deeper layer. Skin can
contain hundreds of sweat and sebaceous glands, dozens of blood vessels, and
thousands of nerve endings per square inch of surface area. The follicle cells
are located in the upper layer, or epidermis, but as fi bers develop, they push
down into the dermis, encased in a tunnel of epidermal cells.
Primary follicles can produce three kinds of fi ber — true wool fi bers,
medullated fi bers, and kemp fi bers — whereas secondary follicles only pro-
duce true wool fi bers. The medullated, or med, fi bers are hairlike fi bers that
wool fi ber
hair fi ber
kemp fi ber
A cross section of sheepskin,
showing the three types of
fi ber: wool, hair, and kemp.
All fi ber growth originates in
the skin.
primary follicle
secondary follicle
