CHAPTER XI 

 TEXTILE FIBRES 



Mohair Alpaca Rabbit fur Camel's hair Horse hair Llama wool- 

 Cow hair Silk. 



I THINK it would be of great interest to the wool student to know 

 a little about some of the other animal textile fibres, as a good 

 many of them are closely allied to wool, and it is difficult to say 

 where one could draw the line between some of them and wool. 



We will first take the Angora goat, or rather the Mohair 

 which grows upon it. The mohair somewhat resembles the wool 

 of the Leicester sheep. It is about the same length, and is noted 

 for the brilliant lustre it possesses. Mohair is also very silky in 

 appearance and soft to the touch. It is used largely in the 

 manufacture of plushes. The lower, inferior classes of it are 

 made into carpets, blankets, etc. It is dangerous to sort ; as a 

 rule the bales are soaked in water or steamed before opening. 



Alpaca. Alpaca is a wool which is grown by the alpaca, an 

 animal which resembles a large goat more than a sheep. Its home 

 is in Peru, Chili, and neighbouring countries. The wool varies in 

 quality, but the bulk of it would be about a Bradford 50*8. The 

 average length of the fibre or staples is about 6 inches ; in colour it 

 ranges from black to white, but the latter is not very plentiful, 

 black, brown, and grey being the colours of the bulk of alpaca 

 wools. It is manufactured into ladies' dress material and 

 similar goods. 



Rabbit Fur. Rabbit fur is used mostly for the manufacture 

 of fur hats. The coarse kempy fur which is seen on the top 



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