WOOL. 



WOOL. 



from the earliest period down to the present 

 day to be of primary importance, having 

 always formed the principal part of the clothing 

 of mankind in most temperate regions. Authors 

 have seemed to imagine that the production of 

 wool was confined to the sheep ; practical men, 

 however, know that there is a numerous list 

 of animals, on whom, at some season of the 

 year at least, wool is found. 



M. Chevreul, who has long devoted himself 

 to the examination of wool, has proved that 

 wool contains three or four different substances. 

 The following is the result of an examination 

 of 100 parts of a merino fleece : 



Parts. 



Earthy substances ... 26-06 



Fat matters dissolved by washing 32-74 



Fat matters ----- 9'97 



Clean wool 3123 



10000 



A consideration of the most important pro- 

 perties of wool cannot be better introduced 

 than in the words of one to whom the agricul- 

 turist, whatever department of husbandry may 

 chiefly occupy his attention, is much indebted. 

 "Fine and coarse," says Arthur Young, 

 "are but vague and general descriptions of 

 wool ; all fine fleeces have some coarse wool, 

 and all coarse fleeces some fine. I shall en- j 

 deavour, for the information of my readers, to 

 distinguish the various qualities of wool in the 

 order in which they are esteemed and preferred 

 by the manufacturer. First, fineness with close 

 ground, that is, thick-matted ground. Second, ! 

 fineness. Third, straight-haired, when broken 

 by drawing. Fourth, elasticity, rising after 

 compression in the hand. Fifth, staple not too ' 

 long. Sixth, colour. Seventh, what coarse is 

 in it to be very coarse. Eighth, tenacity. 

 Ninth, not much pitch-mark ; but this is no 

 other disadvantage than the loss of weight in 

 scouring. The bad or disagreeable properties 

 are, thin, grounded, toppy, curly-haired, and, 

 if in a sorted state, little that is very fine, a 

 tender staple, no elasticity, many dead white 

 hairs, very yolky. Those who buy wool for 

 combing and other light goods that do not want 

 milling, wish to find length of staple, fineness 

 of hair, whiteness, tenacity, firmness, elasticity, 

 and not too many pitch-marks." (Jlnnals of 

 Agriculture, vol. xviii. p. 329.) The fineness of 

 the wool differs greatly on the different parts of 

 the sheep. That running down the side of the 

 neck, and covering the shoulders, the ribs, and 

 the back, is the finest; the next covers the 

 superior parts of the legs and the thighs, and 

 extends up to nearly the haunch and the tail, 

 and a still inferior portion runs along the 

 upper part of the neck, the throat, the breast, 

 the belly, and the lower part of the legs. There 

 is considerable variation in this respect in dif- 

 ferent breeds, and in individuals of the same 

 breed ; and although a fleece, taken generally, 

 may be said to be adapted to a particufar use, 

 yet a portion of it may be employed in the 

 manufacture of a much more valuable article; 

 and at the same time, a greater quantity will 

 be thrown aside as not sufficiently fine for the 

 originally intended purpose. The influence of 

 temperature on the growth of wool is very con- 

 siderable. Sheep in a hot climate will yield a 

 145 



comparatively coarse wool, and those in a 

 cold climate will carry a finer, but, at the same 

 time, a closer and a warmer fleece. The na- 

 tural instinct of the sheep would seem to teach 

 the wool-grower the advantage of attending to 

 the influence of temperature on him. He is 

 evidently impatient of heat. In the open dis- 

 trict, and where no shelter is near, he climbs 

 to the highest parts of his walk, that if the rays 

 of the sun must still fall on him, he may never- 

 theless be cooled by the breeze; but if shelter 

 is near, of whatever kind, every shaded spot is 

 crowded with sheep. Pasture has a very great 

 influence on the fineness of the 'fleece. The 

 staple of the wool, like every other part of the 

 sheep, must increase in length or in bulk, 

 when the animal has a superabundance of nu- 

 triment; and, on the other hand, the secretion 

 which forms the wool must decrease, like 

 every other, when sufficient nourishment is 

 not afforded. Connected with fineness is true- 

 ness of staple as equal a growth as possible 

 over the animal a freedom from the shaggy 

 portions, here and there, which are occasion- 

 ally observed on poor and neglected sheep. 

 These portions are always coarse and com- 

 paratively worthless, and they indicate an. 

 irregular and unhealthy action of the secretion 

 of wool, which will probably weaken or render 

 the fibre diseased in other parts. Soundness 

 and elasticity are also very important proper- 

 ties in wool. 



If the pile is sound, there are few qualities 

 in wool of so much consequence as softness. 

 Fashion has done much in effecting this. Soft- 

 ness of the pile is evidently connected with the 

 presence and quantity of yolk. There is no 

 doubt that this substance is designed, not only 

 to nourish the hair, but to give it richness and 

 pliability. Bad management, neglect, expo- 

 sure, starvation, impair the pliability of the 

 woolly fibre, but chiefly so because they arrest 

 the secretion of the yolk, or change its proper- 

 ties. The colour of the fleece is of minor, and 

 yet of no trifling importance. The alteration 

 of the colour was the first recorded improve- 

 ment of the sheep ; and its purity, its perfect 

 whiteness, should never be lost sight of by the 

 sheepmaster of the present day. To a certain 

 extent, the fleece is frequently stained with the 

 colour of the soil on which the animal grows. 

 In some parts of Gloucestershire the wool ac- 

 quires an orange colour; in Hertfordshire and 

 Warwickshire it is of a brownish red ; and in 

 the fens of Lincoln and Cambridge it has a 

 dark blue tint. 



In some districts, and particularly in the 

 west of England, the farmer needlessly uses a 

 considerable quantity of ochre or ruddle, either 

 in the composition of his salving mixture, or 

 to gratify a foolish fancy. The tar gives con- 

 sistence to the oil or butter, and although it is 

 often with considerable difficulty washed away, 

 yet while it remains on the fleece, it gives a 

 permanency to the smearing process ; not one 

 plea, however, can be offered in favour of the 

 ruddle. See SALVING. 



It is not necessary (nor, indeed, would our 



space permit it) to go into the construction of 



wool, as seen through the microscope. We 



shall pass on, therefore, to point out the differ- 



5 E 1153 



