WILD WOOL 



and hair are forms of the same thing, modified 

 in just that way and to just that degree that 

 renders them most perfectly subservient to the 

 well-being of the sheep. Furthermore, it will 

 be observed that these wild modifications are 

 entirely distinct from those which are brought 

 chancingly into existence through the acci- 

 dents and caprices of culture ; the former being 

 inventions of God for the attainment of defi- 

 nite ends. Like the modifications of limbs — 

 the fin for swimming, the wing for flying, the 

 foot for walking — so the fine wool for warmth, 

 the hair for additional warmth and to protect 

 the wool, and both together for a fabric to 

 wear well in mountain roughness and wash 

 well in mountain storms. 



The effects of human culture upon wild wool 

 are analogous to those produced upon wild 

 roses. In the one case there is an abnormal 

 development of petals at the expense of the 

 stamens, in the other an abnormal develop- 

 ment of wool at the expense of the hair. 

 Garden roses frequently exhibit stamens in 

 which the transmutation to petals may be 

 observed in various stages of accomplishment, 

 and analogously the fleeces of tame sheep 

 occasionally contain a few wild hairs that are 

 undergoing transmutation to wool. Even wild 

 wool presents here and there a fiber that 



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