Author:
Agriculture Victoria

Date of Publication:
February 2006, updated January 2007

Publication:
Agriculture Victoria

Excerpt:
Evaluating the attributes of alpaca fleeces subjectively by eye is difficult and unreliable as alpaca fleeces show large variations in attributes. In addition, our eyes (and brain) are limited in their ability to discern fibre diameter, the average of other attributes and the extent of naturally occurring contaminants. Alpaca fleeces are also affected by environmental conditions, in particular humidity, but also by storage conditions. These same limitations apply equally to wool, mohair and cashmere.

Read the rest of the article: http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/alpacas/alpaca-fleeces