Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Chute |
The ramp down which a sheep slides into the count-out pen after being shorn.
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| Classing |
Matching or grading wool into similar lines for marketing by the woolclasser.
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| Clean Colour |
The colour of wool after scouring. Clean colour is measured in terms of brightness and yellowness, both of which can affect dyeing potential.
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| Clip |
The total amount of wool shorn on a property in one year.
|
| Code of Practice |
Industry agreed minimum standards for the Preparation of the Australian Wool Clip.
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| Colorimeter |
Instrument used to determine the colour of wool by measuring the tri-stimulus values of the sample.
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| Combing |
A process performed after scouring, carding and gilling to remove most of the short fibre (noil), neps and foreign matter, leaving the longer fibres lying parallel to the direction of the sliver. The product, after two more gillings, is called top.
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| Combing wool |
Wool suitable for conversion to yarn on the worsted system. Generally, it is Merino wool having a staple length of about 40mm or greater.
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| Comfort Factor |
The percentage of fibres in a distribution that are finer than 30 micron in diameter.
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| Conditioning | The amount of moisture (16%) absorbed by dried wool from standard atmosphere referred to as regain. |
| Consistency |
The uniform distribution of all the fibre characteristics within each lock and throughout the entire fleece.
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| Contamination | Foreign items found in wool that affects processing that falls into two categories: (1) Fibrous - baling twine, dogs hair, feathers, fertilizer bags etc. These contaminants behave just like the wool fibre and end up woven into finished fabrics and (2) Hard - metal or hard substances such as bale hooks, tools, tyre levers, timber etc. which if undetected cause costly damage to early stage processing machinery that usually require production lines to close while being repaired. |
| Core sampling |
Removing fibre specimens for testing by inserting a hollow tube into each bale.
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| Core Testing |
Consists of testing a known quantity of wool for yield, fibre diameter and vegetable matter content and type; the sample is extracted from a bale of greasy wool, by means of a core of tube. Core tests are usually conducted prior to sale (pre-sale).
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| Cotted |
Wool that has become matted.
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