384 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, IV.

Roberts and White (1930) with Welsh mountain sheep there is strong evidence
that degrees of kempiness are similarly inherited in that breed, and as other breeds
of sheep form subjects of study there is every reason to believe that similar
principles of inheritance will apply equally to them.

It is necessary carefully to differentiate between the true kemp fibre and
coarse, sometimes hairy, medullated fibres which are seen particularly in britch
wool from various breeds of sheep. No references to generic work on the inheri-
tance of these fibres have been found, but Dry (1931) has studied their occurrence
in New Zealand (mainly in Romneys), whilst; a technique which has for its aim
the rapid and easy estimation of the proportion of medullated fibres in a sample
of the wool of New Zealand Romney sheep, has recently been reported by Elphick
(1932). This is called the 'benzol test'. It consists of examining a staple of wool
from a given sheep by the naked eye after immersion in benzol, which has a
refractive index practically the same as that of non-medullated wool. The air-
content in a medullated fibre, having a refractive index higher than that of the
solid wool-fibre enables these medullated fibres to be readily seen by the naked eye.
It is stated that the technique is being applied to breeding flocks with a view to
determining the mode of inheritance of medullated fibre, but to date no results are
available.

        INHERITANCE OF CERTAIN SECONDARY WOOL-CHARACTERS.

In addition to the more important characteristics of the fleece which have been
discussed, there are certain minor characters which have been studied. Some of
these are of very considerable practical importance, and deserve more attention
than has already been paid to them. Such recorded work as is available will be
briefly considered.

' Chalk-face' in Merinos.—' Chalk-face' or ' Frosted-face' are terms chiefly
used in America to designate the presence of stiff, coarse, dull-white hairs on the
faces of Merino sheep. These appear in sharp contrast to the uniform soft fine
fibres which form the normal hairy covering of the faces of this breed, and which
are referred to by breeders as ' velvety . This feature of ' velvetiness' on the
face is regarded by some as being correlated with excellence of fleece and according-
ly is desirable in good-quality breeding stock. Conversely, chalky fibres are
believed to be correlated with coarseness of fleece. In addition, an abundance of
chalky fibres are liable, when they are shed, to become entangled in the fine wool
of the neck. This requires a more careful skirting of the fleece with, in the
aggregate, a not inconsiderable wastage of fine wool.