19—THE UTILIZATION OF A MODIFIED SHIRLEY ANALYSER (WOOL MODEL) IN DEHAIRING CASHMERE-DOWN SAMPLES FOR GREASY-YIELD TESTING

This paper describes an investigation into the suitability and accuracy of a modified Shirley Analyser in removing coarse guard hair from the fine-down fibres (dehairing) in ‘cashmere’-type goat fleeces. The study involved experiments in which samples were dehaired in a modified Shirley Analyser and another dehairing machine. The results show that the techniques described effectively removed guard-hair fibres from goat fleeces, with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability between fleeces. When tested against existing dehairing facilities in another laboratory, results compared very favourably. The technique is suitable as a test to determine the greasy yield of cashmere down in a sample for identification of superior breeding animals and for the purchase of raw cashmere down on a sale-by-description basis. The paper outlines the techniques used and discusses the implications of the results obtained.