74 THE SHEEP AND WOOL INDUSTRY 



it, and also steamed by passing it over perforated copper plates 

 through which steam issues. After brushing and steaming the 

 cloth is folded up and a sheet of brown paper is placed between 

 each fold, also a piece of sheet-iron at intervals of 9 inches or 

 so. In this state it is placed for some hours in a hydraulic 

 press, after which it is taken out and folded. The material is 

 then ready for the market. 



WORSTEDS. 



After the wool has been scoured and dried, the first process 

 that it undergoes is willowing. Willowing shakes any sand and 

 loose vegetable matter from the wool, and also helps to mix wools 

 that have been blended. 



Should the wool contain a good deal of burr, it is necessary to 

 run it through a burring machine. There are several types of 

 burring machines. Some crush the burr which is removed in the 

 carding and combing operations that follow, though when this 

 method is employed the noil is very dirty. The latest method 

 is that employed by Woolcombers, Ltd., England. This is a 

 machine which takes the place of the top divider of the 

 carder. The wool is run on to what is called a Morel's roller. 

 This roller is closely covered with thousands of very fine 

 wire teeth, which allow the wool to sink down between them ; 

 the burrs, being too large to follow, remain on top of the wire 

 teeth of the roller. As the latter revolves it comes into close 

 contact with a six-bladed burr beater, which knocks the burrs 

 off it into trays made to hold them. When this method of 

 burring is employed the noil is very clean, as burrs are removed 

 in the carding machine. 



The next process is preparing or carding. Most long wools of 

 7 inches and up are prepared. 



This is done by a preparing box which opens up the staple of 

 the wool, combs the fibres apart, and also lays them parallel. 



Short wools, such as Merino, etc., are prepared for combing by 

 the carding machine, which leaves the wool in an even layer of 



