Characterization of anomalous or "Doggy" wool

Abstract

Several sets of normal and "doggy" wool from various sources have been examined for possible differences in fibre thickness and fibre length frequency distributions. A slight tendency for normal wool to be h e r than doggy wool from the same flock was observed, but no apparent difference in variability of fibre thickness. Fibre length evidence was inconclusive. In normal and doggy wool from the same flock, higher wax and suint contents in the normal, significant at the 5 and 1 per cent. levels respectively, were recorded. No differences between normal and doggy wools in cystine and total sulphur contents were observed; but in cortical differentiation, there was evidence that in contrast with the bilateral segmentation in normal wool, the doggy samples included a greater percentage of fine fibres with central or fragmentary or ill-defined orthocortex or divided paracortex, though the number of these was not great.