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equal the demand for the raw material in this country, 

 where both sexes are so fond of fine appearance, and it is 

 already rare to meet an elegantly dressed lady or gentleman 

 without more or less of this material in their apparel, 

 though it is, as yet, chit-fly of foreign manufacture. Though 

 France, Germany and Scotland ail manufacture this pro- 

 duct, England takes the lead, and it is said that she engrosses 

 two-thirds of all the wool produced, and that she even 

 does part of the spinning for the French manufactories 

 of it. 



PREPARATION OF THE WOOL FOR MARKET. 



About the 1st of April, in Kentucky, when a somewhat 

 fuzzy appearance in the fleece denotes that some of the goats 

 begin to shed their wool, they should be well washed with- 

 out the use of soap, in clear water (and the warmest acces- 

 sible, though not artificially heated), and on a clear and 

 sunny day. The males especially require washing, as they 

 urinate on their fore legs in the breeding season. It may 

 often be dispensed with after a heavy rain, and especially 

 with the females and wethers. For this purpose, place a 

 hog-scalding box, or other box or trough, near a clear pond 

 or stream, and fill with water ; submerge the goat to the 

 neck in it, two men holding and rubbing. When the wool 

 is cleaned of any dirt, and of the old skin which is being 

 shed off, stand the goat upon a plank placed across the box, 

 and press the wool with the hands, and let the water drain 

 for a few minutes. After drying thoroughly for a day or 

 two in a clean pasture, they may be shorn like sheep, if 

 practicable, cutting off the wool about the ends of the hair, 

 which is then growing out among the wool of grade goats. 

 It is desirable to get as little as possible of the old skin and 

 of the growing hair in the shorn fleece of wool. Each 

 fleece should be carefully rolled up separately, outside out, 

 and tied up securely and closely with small, tine, colored 

 thread or twine. Pack the fleeces closely in a bag which 



