I .Several instances of green and red discolourations of wool having been recently reported, stained specimens have been submitted to Dr Bowman, the well-known English wool expert, who has written the following explan ation :—“I return the samples of wool. The colouring matter, both green and red, is organic, not mineral. It probably arises from the sheep or lambs lying upon ground where mosses and lichens are g»-owing (not brackens). The * sap ’ of the lichens and mosses gets into the wool, and many of them give colouring matter when exposed to the air, especially in the presence of fatty acids, which are produced by the decomposition of the suint in wet weather. J have often seen this in Scotland, when the sheep lie with their backs against lichen-covered rocks amongst the hills, or on banks under the walls where mosses and lichens abound. Some of them are bad to re move, but most of ■'fcheai yield to hot alkaline solutions, such as soap and water.
