SHEEP 265 



second place ; and silk, with all its fine qualities, is 

 very inferior to wool for actual service. The 

 sheep's coat, more than anything else, we use for 

 clothing ; we cover ourselves with its fleece after con- 

 verting it by spinning and weaving into magnificent 

 cloth. " 



"All the same," objected Emile, "wool is not in 

 the least beautiful when it is on the animal's back; 

 it is dirty, badly combed, often completely covered 

 with filth. To be changed into the fleece suitable for 

 cloth it must go through a good many processes. " 



"A good many, indeed. We will speak only of 

 the first, for the others would lead us too far from 

 our subject. 



"As it is found on the sheep, the wool is soiled by 

 the sweat of the animal and by dust, which together 

 form a layer of dirt called natural grease. An ener- 

 getic washing is necessary to remove these impuri- 

 ties. The best way is to wash the sheep itself before 

 shearing. The flock is driven to the edge of a 

 stream, not so cold as to endanger the health of the 

 animals, and there each sheep is seized in turn by 

 men who plunge it into the water and rub and 

 squeeze the fleece with their hands until the grease 

 has disappeared and the water runs clear from the 

 tufts of wool. That is what is called washing on the 

 back, because the wool is cleaned on the body itself, 

 on the animal's back. 



* * At other times the sheep is shorn without having 

 been washed first, just as it comes out of the fold, 

 with all its coating of dust and sweat. The wool 



