N. BURGESS ON THE WOOLS OF COMMERCE. 31 



-YTT^ of an inch, or yL of a millimetre. The mean of the fine 

 fibres gave ^rj:^ of an inch, or -Jj^ of a millimetre. Another sam- 

 ple of Saxony wool gave ^7-5 of an inch, or -^^ of a millimetre. 

 Among Saxon wools shown " in the grease," two of the fibres were 

 measured, one being Y5V2 ^f an inch, or -^^ of a millimetre, 

 and the other xaVo ^^ ^^ ^'^^^' or -jL of a millimetre. Proba- 

 bly this sample could not be exceeded for beauty or symmetry ; 

 it was taken from one of Steizer's celebrated ewes. 



The Southdown sample shown gives for one fibre -g-^ of an 

 inch, or the ^^g- of a millimetre, and for another 3^ of an inch, 

 or -^ of a millimetre. The Lincoln wool gives for one part of 

 the fibre -^^ of an inch, or Jy of a millimetre; for the other 

 ■54-0 of an inch, or ^t ^^ ^ millimetre, and for the coarsest ^^ or 

 ^ of a millimetre. 



In a sample of the " Russian Douskoi," one fibre, measured 

 in three different places, also gave the same diameters. If 

 ' ' imbrications " go for anything Russian Douskoi should eclipse 

 every other in the " felting " process ; but here again facts are 

 dead against that theory. 



A fibre of the Northumberland wool, measured in its thinnest 

 part, gave ^-^ of an inch, or ^ of a millimetre ; and ^^ of 

 an inch, or ^ of a millimetre at its thickest diameter. These 

 examples will suffice for showing the relative degrees of size, and 

 the varieties which occur in the same fibre. 



I intended to devote the last part of this paper to the internal 

 structure of the wool fibre, but I must leave it to another oppor- 

 tunity, for several reasons. It is a subject which requires time, 

 special apparatus, and manipulative skill to work out. 



I may, however, indicate that some wool fibres, which look like 

 hollow cylinders, will probably not prove to be so ; some, indeed, I 

 find to be filled with a transparent substance having a pith-hke 

 core. 



In East India wool there is, at times, a condition intermediate 

 between the states of " Kemp " and wool, in the interior of the 

 fibre. In the true " Kemp " this part of the fibre or pith is not 

 pervious to the dyes used, in the same degree as the other fibres. 

 In the Douskoi there is sometimes a change in the same hair from 

 the wool form to the " Kemp," and the same thing has been noticed 

 by me in the Northumberland sample of wool before you. 



I had also proposed to test the action of certain chemical sub- 

 stances used in the manufacture. Soda ash, for instance, con- 



