This is beautiful, deep, dark brown Romney with very little vegetable matter. It is not too greasy or dirty - I hand-carded some in the grease and then scoured. It scoured easily. There are very few bleached tips. Staples run from 3-5 inches, some are more crimped than others. I would heartily recommend this for students or anyone learning to make yarn from raw wool. The color is lovely! Also, it could be overdyed to a deep black!