WOOL 



WOOL 



warmth without weight and also protection 

 against extreme heat, it furnishes one of the 

 most healthful coverings for man. The pre- 

 vailing color of sheep's wool is white, but there 

 are also gray, yellowish, fawn, brown and black 

 shades. Wool is distinguished by its softness 

 and its corrugated and spiral structure, which 

 renders it wavy or curly. 



The most important producers of wool are 

 the numerous varieties of sheep, the finest 

 quality being yielded by a breed descended 

 from the fine-wooled merino and the long- 

 wooled species, such as the Lincolnshire or 

 Leicester breeds of England. Alpaca, the mo- 

 hair yielded by the Angora goat, and the soft, 

 curly hair of the camel are other important 

 commercial wools, but the finest and most 



Australia 



64-8 



Belgium 

 232 



British South Africa 

 189 



Argentina 

 95 



New Zealand 



on the hind legs. Fleece wool is that clipped 

 from the live animal, and pulled wool is ob- 

 tained from the pelts of slaughtered sheep. 



According to its quality and its use in manu- 

 facture, wool is sorted into several classes. The 

 short, curly fibers used in the making of felt 

 and long-napped materials is known as carding 

 wool; the fibers from four to eight inches in 

 length, used in the manufacture of worsteds, 

 are called combing wools, and the coarsest and 

 strongest varieties are called carpet and blanket 

 wools. The American method of preparing 

 wool for the market is inferior to that prac- 

 ticed in Australia and New Zealand, where it is 

 sorted and classed when sheared and is packed 

 in uniform bales of fibers of the same grade. 

 In 1915 an organization of Wyoming and Utah 

 sheepmen established a model plant to demon- 

 strate the value of the Australian method. 



All improved breeds of sheep are raised in 

 the United States, and the Union is among the 

 world's leading wool-producing countries,. The 

 annual wool clip of the states is about 290,000,- 

 000 pounds, of which over 280,000,000 pounds. 



Uruguay 

 178 



Montana 



30 

 New Mexico 



19 



Wyoming 



29 

 Oregon 



n 



Figures Represent Millions of Pounds 



LEADING COUNTRIES AND STATES IN WOOL PRODUCTION 



The annual wool clip in the United States is about 290,000,000 pounds between that of Argentina 

 and Belgium. 



costly grade is that of the Cashmere goat, from 

 which the soft, silken Persian rugs and shawls 

 are made. 



The quality of wool depends not only upon 

 its fineness, curl, length and luster, but also 

 upon its elasticity, and delicate machines have 

 been invented for testing its elastic quality. 

 Neglect of sheep and insufficient feeding cause 

 the growth of uneven, hairy coats, the fibers 

 of which contain weak spots and are dry and 

 inelastic. In healthy sheep the wool is cov- 

 ered with a fatty or greasy substance which 

 prevents matting and protects the fibers from 

 dust and other injurious substances. 



Lamb's wool is softer and more wavy than 

 sheep's wool, and it brings a higher price. The 

 finest and most even part of the fleece is on the 

 shoulders and back; on the neck and top of 

 the shoulders the wool is not so close and long, 

 and on the flanks it is coarse. The poorest 

 wool, known as breach wool and used only in 

 the coarsest yarns, grows in thick, uneven tufts 



besides an import of over 308,000,000 pounds 

 in normal years, are consumed by American 

 factories. For rank of leading states and coun- 

 tries in the wool production, see chart. 



Woolen Manufacture. After the wool is re- 

 ceived at the factory it is sorted, then beaten 

 and thoroughly scoured and cleansed in vats 

 containing a steaming solution of soft water 

 and soap. It is dried on a wire netting by cur- 

 rents of warm air, and after all impurities 

 have been removed, that used in fabrics, known 

 as "dyed in the wool," is dyed. The tufts of 

 fibers are loosened by a teasing machine which 

 consists of a revolving drum in which sets of 

 hooked teeth move in opposite directions, tear- 

 ing the wool into fine fibers. The wool is then 

 oiled to restore its natural pliancy, and is run 

 through a series of three carding machines. 

 These are cylinders studded with teeth, which 

 straighten and interblend the fibers, finally cast- 

 ing them out in the form of a continuous, flat 

 band. The condensing machine reduces the 



