Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 March 2009
Data from the laboratory examination of fleece samples from representative animals of the parental Border Leicester and Cheviot stock, the F1 “half-breds” and the F2 ewes, are submitted.
The characters of mean fibre length, fineness and mean fibre volume are discussed, the variability found in the various types being particularly noted. The distributions of fibre lengths are also considered, it being found that all the parental forms also appear in the succeeding generations.
Evidence of blending inheritance is not manifest in the results, which support the interpretation of multiple factors as responsible for the expression of the wool characters of length and fineness.
Attention is called to the importance of considering fibre volumes as criteria of follicle activity.