THE FARMER AT HOME. 459 



chain power, and is capable of sawing several cords in a day. It is 

 simple and easily worked and kept in order. Others, of larger dimen- 

 sions, are used for slitting plank and boards. For this purpose, a 

 different saw is required than when used for cutting across the grain. 

 For the last purpose, the teeth are triangular; for the former, they are 

 hooked like an eagle's beak. The first is called the cross-cut, the last 

 the rip-saw. The above machine, and every thing else wanted by 

 farmers, can be had of A. B. Allen & Co., New York, who have a 

 manufactory for agricultural implements equal to any one in the 

 country. 



WOOL. This is the soft, hairy, or downy substance which forms 

 the covering of sheep, and is found in smaller proportion on many 

 other animals. It is an article which has continued from the earliest 

 period down to the present day to be of primary importance, having 

 always formed the principal part of the clothing of mankind in most 

 temperate regions. Authbrs have seemed to imagine that the pro- 

 duction of wool was confined to the sheep ; practical men, however, 

 know that there is a numerous list of animals, on whom, at some 

 seasons of the year at least, wool is to be found. The fineness of the 

 wool differs greatly on different parts of the sheep. That running 

 down the side of the neck, and covering the shoulders, the ribs, and 

 the back is the finest ; the next covers the superior part of the legs 

 and the thighs, and extends up to nearly the haunch and tail, and a 

 still inferior portion runs along the upper part of the neck, the throat, 

 the breast, the belly, and the lower parts of the legs. 



There is also a considerable variation in this respect in different 

 breeds, and in different individuals of the same breed ; and although 

 a fleece, taken generally, may be said to be adapted to a particular 

 use, yet a portion of it may be employed in the manufacture of a much 

 more valuable article ; and at the same time, a greater quantity will 

 be thrown aside as not sufficiently fine for the originally intended 

 purpose. The influence of temperature on the growth of wool is very 

 considerable. Sheep, in a hot climate, will yield a comparatively 

 coarse wool, and those in a cold climate will carry a finer, but, at the 

 same time, a closer and warmer fleece. The natural instinct of sheep 

 would seem to teach the wool-grower the advantage of attending to 

 the influence of temperature on him. He is evidently impatient of 

 heat. In the open district, and where no shelter is near, he climbs 

 to the highest part of his walk, that if the rays of the sun must fall 

 on him, he may nevertheless be cooled by the breeze ; but, if shelter 

 is near, of whatever kind, every shaded spot is crowded with sheep. 

 And pasture has a very great influence on the fineness of the fleece. 

 The staple of the wool, like every other part of the sheep, must in- 

 crease in length or in bulk, when the animal has a superabundance 

 pf nutriment ; and on the other hand, the secretion which forms the 



