Skirting the Wool Fleece from Merino Sheep-Shearing Demonstration, Greenfield Village, April 2010

Heavy, yet fine fleeces made Merino sheep a popular breed among nineteenth-century wool producers. Every spring, after carefully navigating blade shears to cut away each sheep's thick fleece, farmers removed especially dirty or coarse sections of wool. This process, called skirting, helped maximize profit, as farmers and wool buyers negotiated a price per pound of wool based on fleece quality.