266 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



thus obtained is called greasy wool, while the washed 

 fleece is known as greaseless wool. The greasy wool 

 is too dirty to be used as it is, even for making mat- 

 tresses ; it is washed in a stream of running water, 

 and then it is like the wool taken from a washed 

 sheep. 



"To shear a sheep, the animal is tied fast by all 

 four legs to keep it from moving and perhaps get- 

 ting cut during the operation ; then it is placed on a 

 table about as high as a man is tall, and with large, 

 wide-bladed shears the wool is clipped off as close 

 as possible to the skin without at the same time cut- 

 ting the poor animal. As the locks of wool are nat- 

 urally curly and entangled, the fleece comes off all in 

 one piece. 



1 ' Sheep are white, brown, and black. White wool 

 can be dyed any shade, from the lightest to the dark- 

 est, whereas black or brown will only take dark col- 

 ors. White wool, therefore, is always preferred 

 to any other ; but however beautiful it may be after 

 all impurities have been removed by washing, it is 

 still far from possessing the degree of whiteness 

 that it should have if it is to be used without dyeing. 

 Accordingly it is bleached by being exposed in a 

 closed room to the suffocating vapor that comes 

 from burning sulphur. 



"Wool varies in value according to the sheep that 

 produced it; there are different degrees of coarse- 

 ness and fineness and length. The best wool, that 

 which is reserved for the finest stuffs, comes from 

 a breed of sheep raised principally in Spain and 



