N. BDRGESS ON THE WOOLS OF COMMERCE. 27 



First. Its ordinary form of growth. The quality of the wool 

 varies very much in dilfereut parts of the same animal. In a sheep 

 of pure Merino breed the back presents a close, dense mass, it a 

 small portion of this be carefully cut off next the skin, it will ap- 

 pear like the samples in the case labelled " Saxon wooL" If this 

 be carefully examined, it will be seen to possess a large number of 

 curves arranges in symmetrical order, from the root to the apex of 

 the staple. 



The finest wool in the unwashed condition (or in " the grease"), 

 has 30 of these curves to the inch ; the others, most of which are 

 from rams, have 23 or 24, and the curves are very close and um- 

 form in tbeir arrangement. Among the samples of " "Wools of 

 Great Britain" is one from a Southdown wether fleece. In this 

 there are but thirteen curves to the inch, and the fibre is much 

 coarser; the Saxon being ygV^ ^^ an inch, and the Southdown 

 ,j-^ of an ineh in diameter. A " tegg" or " hoggett" of Southdown 

 breed is still coarser, giving 11 curves to the inch. Lower again in 

 the quality and number of curves is the Irish hogg wool, with only 

 six curves to the inch, while the Lincoln gives but two curves in 

 the same space, and lowest of all is the Northumberland, with 

 two curves in one inch and a quarter. 



If, now, a fibre be taken from the Merino and another from 

 the Lincoln, and be laid side by side, the relative proportion of 

 their curves will be as 15 to 1. If a number of these fibres were 

 taken, each sort separate, it would be seen that the amount of 

 entanglement between the fibres would be 15 times greater in one 

 case than in the other. Suppose that instead of their natural form 

 they are laid parallel to each other in a straight line by machineiy, 

 each fibre has a natural tendency to regain its original position. 

 Suppose the now parallel fibres are twisted into a yarn and then 

 woven, and the warp is strained tight in the loom, many of the 

 loose threads having been stuck down in the sizing process, it 

 is evident that in this condition all the fibres are in a state of 

 unnatural tension until they come out of the loom in the form 

 of cloth. 



All external tension is now removed in order for the next or 

 " felting" process ; the loose fibres being released, the cloth being 

 saturated with moisture, the whole has to undergo a process of 

 heavy thumping, duiing which each fibre^has a pressure applied, 

 first in one place, then in another. I believe that each fibre at 



