Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 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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| Count | Refers to the spinning capacity of wool ie. The number of hanks of yarn (worsted hank 512 metres long, woollen 256metres which can be spun from 0.453kg (1 Lbs or Pound) of wool top when spun to its fullest capacity. |
| Count-out pen |
Pen in which shearers releases the sheep after it has been shorn or crutched.
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| Crimp |
The natural waviness of the wool fibre. Varies with the diameter of the fibre, the finer the wool the closer the crimp or wave formation.
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| Crimp Definition |
The degree of alignment of the crimp waves within a staple.
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| Crimp Frequency |
The number of crimp waves per centimetre of staple length. Coefficient of variation of crimp frequency refers to the variation in frequency between staples within a lot.
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| Crossbred |
The result of crossing two different breeds of sheep. Generally applied to the progeny of two distinct sheep breeds, in Australia it is often that of a British breed and a Merino.
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| Crutch |
The area on a sheep around the anus.
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