WOOL. 



ed. In Spain, it is the custom to 

 sweat the sheep the night before 

 shearing, by keeping as large a num- 

 ber as can be crowded together in a 

 hut : the wool is removed the next 

 day without being washed, that op- 

 eration being conducted afterward. 

 The wool is first sorted into three 

 parcels ; in some places these parcels 

 contain the different qualities : 1st, 

 superfine picklock (?T^;irt), taken from 

 the back, flanks, and sides of the 

 neck ; 2d, fine (Jina), from the 

 breast, belly, sides of the haunches, 

 and upper part of the neck ; 3d, 

 third kind (iercera), from the cheeks, 

 upper part of the throat, the fore legs 

 above the knee, the hams, and back 

 of the haunches ; the fourth quality, 

 or caijda, is refuse, and is from the 

 tail, rump, lower parts of the legs, and 

 between the legs. The assorted par- 

 cels are hence treated separately : 

 first they are beaten on hurdles ; then 

 placed in vats containing water heat- 

 ed to 120^ Fahrenheit, where they 

 are stirred with sticks ; then removed 

 to drain and transferred to a running 

 stream ; here the wool is pressed by 

 the feet of the workmen, and finally 

 thrown out to dry on the grass : in a 

 few days of hot, dry weather it be- 

 comes sufficiently dry to be packed. 

 AVhen sheep are washed, as with us, 

 the wool is by no means so clean ; 

 indeed, Spanish Merino wool by 

 scouring only loses ten per cent., 

 whereas American Merino loses for- 

 ty per cent. The washed sheep are 

 transferred to clean meadows, and if 

 fed in sheds, they should be laid with 

 clean straw. If the weatlier he fine, 

 in a week the fleece will be dry, and 

 a new secretion of yolk will have in- 

 creased its weight. 



The shearing must be postponed 

 to fine, warm, settled weather, and 

 may take place in a well-lighted barn, 

 the floor of which is spread with 

 straw and then covered with a can- 

 vass ; but a clean sward is well 

 enough. (See Shearing.) The fleece 

 is to be removed carefully, the wool 

 cut truly, and not clipped irregularly, I 

 but severed with each stroke of the 

 "hears. A good workman can man- 1 

 670 



age 2.5 to 30 sheep a day of the Me 

 rino breed. All tags, burs, and haii 

 about the legs should be removed 

 before bringing the sheep on the can- 

 vass, which is to be done with man- 

 agement, and not violently. The re- 

 moval of hair is important, as it af- 

 fords shelter to ticks, and may hide 

 diseases of the skin. After .shearing, 

 the sheep should be classified, accord- 

 ing to the wool they produce, their 

 healthiness and form, and marked so 

 as to carry out the views of their 

 owner. They may be marked with 

 a hot iron on the forehead, or with 

 an ointment of lampblack and lard : 

 tar is objectionable on the wool-bear- 

 ing parts. 



The fleeces are piled one on the 

 other until the shearing is done ; or 

 they may be removed by a new hand, 

 and carried to a table, one by one, to 

 be rolled. With each fleece the loose 

 locks are taken, but the hair of th.e 

 legs separated and placed in a bag or 

 elsewhere. The fleece is carefully 

 spread out on the table, the ragged 

 portions on the edges are separated, 

 and, with all the loose wool, thrown 

 into the middle. The workman next 

 presses the sides inward, so as to 

 condense the wool ; the sides and 

 ends are then turned over, so that 

 the folded fleece forms an oblong two 

 or three feet long and one and a half 

 feet wide ; this is drawn to the front 

 edge of the table and rolled, during 

 which the assistance of a boy is ne- 

 cessary to press the wool together 

 and condense it ; the roll is finally 

 tied with a stout twine. The fleeces 

 are preserved in a well- ventilated loft. 

 When sold, they are put up in bales : 

 these are made of burlaps ; a piece 

 of a yard wide and three yards long 

 is used for a sack. The sack is kept 

 open by a hoop, and the fleeces press- 

 ed down by a man until the bag is 

 nearly full ; it is then made up and 

 sewed along the top. 



The weight of a fleece, and the price 

 it fetches in the market per pound, 

 are subject to considerable difference. 

 The following represents the average 

 fleece : Saxons, 2 to 3 lbs. ; Merinos, 

 2i to 3 lbs. ; South Downs, 3 to 4 lbs ; 



