470 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



wool must decrease, like every other, when sufficient nourishment is 

 not afforded. 



Connected with fineness and trueness of staple, as equal growth 

 as possible over the animal ; a freedom from the shaggy portions, 

 here and there, which are occasionally observed on poor and ne- 

 glected sheep. These portions ar3 always coarse and comparatively 

 worthless, and they indicate an i regular and unhealthy action of the 

 secretion of the wool, which will probably weaken or render the fibre 

 diseased in other parts. Soundness and elasticity are also very im- 

 portant properties in wool. If the pile is sound, there are few quali- 

 ties in wool of so much consequence as softness. Fashion has done 

 much in effecting this. Softness of the pile is evidently connected with 

 the presence and quantity of yolk or animal oil, more or less abound- 

 ing in good wool. There is no doubt that this substance is designed 

 not only to nourish the hair, but to give it richness and pliability. 

 Bad management, neglect, exposure, starvation, impair the pliability 

 of the wooly fibre, but chiefly so because they arrest the secretion of 

 the yolk, or change its properties. The color of the fleece is of minor, 

 and yet of no trifling importance. The alteration of the color was the 

 first recorded improvement of the sheep ; and its purity, its perfect 

 whiteness, should never be lost sight of by the sheep-master of the 

 present day. To a certain extent, the fleece is frequently stained with 

 the color of the soil on which the animal grows. It is stated on good 

 authority, that in some parts of Gloucestershire, England, the wool 

 acquires an orange color ; in Hertfordshire and Warwickshire it is of 

 a brownish red ; and in the fens of Lincoln and Cambridge it has a 

 dark-blue tint. 



WORSTED. This is a thread that has been spun of wool that 

 has been combed, and which, in spinning, is twisted harder than 

 ordinarily. The wool used for worsted should be of the finest and the 

 longest texture.. The thread then has an increased smoothness and 

 strength. This accounts for the superiority of worsted fabrics. The 

 thread thus produced is chiefly used either to be knit or woven into 

 stockings, caps, or gloves, and more recently into various under gar- 

 ments. Worsted has obtained its name from Worstead, a market 

 town in the county of Norfolk, England, where the manufacture of 

 the article was first introduced. The manufactures, which derived 

 their name from the place, are now mostly located in Norwich and 

 vicinity. 



WREN. This is a well known genus of birds, closely allied to 

 the warblers, distinguished by their small size, slender beak, short 

 roundish wings, mottled plumage, and the habit of holding the tail 

 elevated. The European wren is, with one exception, the smallest 

 bird on that continent. It is fond of prying about crevices and holes 

 in walls and ruined old buildings, and is constantly in motion, search- 

 ing for insects, which form its accustomed food. It nestles in similar 



