WOOL DESCRIBED AND CLASSIFIED 59 



tions, than a tendency to reversion sets in. The fiber be- 

 comes shorter, straighter and coarser, until in some in- 

 stances it closely resembles hair. 



Wool may be distinguished from hair, and in fact 

 from all vegetable fibers, by the corrugated character of 

 the fibers and by its property of felting. The latter is the 

 outcome of the epithelial scales which overlap each other 

 along the course of the fibers. Other distinctions are as 

 follows: (i) Wool is usually possessed of more staple 

 than hair; (2) it is more pliable, softer and more elastic; 

 (3) it is more dense than hair, the number of wool fibers 

 being much greater on a given surface than the number of 

 hairs on the same ; (4) all wools are possessed of more or 

 less crimp and curve or wave, while hair is straight, or but 

 slightly wavy. It is also stronger than wool. This com- 

 parison is made between sheep and the various quadru- 

 peds kept on the farm other than sheep. It will not hold 

 good in every particular when contrasted with the cover- 

 ing of some of the fur-bearing animals. The exact point 

 where the distinctions come in between wool and hair 

 is not in all instances easily determined. 



Mohair and Cashmere wool are prominent among the 

 hairlike products that have attained to much prominence 

 in the manufacture of clothing. The former is a lustrous 

 wool, obtained from the Angora goat. It is of good length, 

 pure white in color, has a high luster, and is fine and 

 wavy. It is used in making astrakhans, velvets, fine 

 wraps and half-silk goods. The latter is the fine and ex- 

 tremely soft white or gray fur of the Cashmere goat bred 

 in Thibet. The outer covering consists of long tufts of 

 hair, and underneath it is the Cashmere wool of com- 

 merce. It is a soft downy wool of a brownish gray 

 tint, and has a fine silky fiber. It is used in making the 

 costly Oriental shawls and the finest wraps. 



The contrast between the covering of the improved 

 and unimproved breeds is very great. In the latter, the 

 wool fibers are shorter and less dense, as a rule. They 



