WOOL. 199 



Noils. These are the short fibre combings of wool that are 

 separated from the longer or worsted fibres of the combing machine. 

 Fig. 125 is an example of noils from the merino wools. These are 

 utilised in the process of the manufacture of felt hats. * 



The finest of the combings are chiefly from the Australian long 

 and fine stapled wools. The Lincoln and Leicester type are hardly 

 so good. The Mohair and Alpaca noils are chiefly the product of the two 

 Auchenian goats. The most valuable noils are obtained from the rich 

 stapled Botany wools. They are much used for the yarns in those districts 

 where woollen shawl manufacture is carried on, particularly Delph, 



Fig. 124. Northumberland wool. 



in the Saddle worth district of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The 

 noils obtained from the alpaca and mohair are much in demand 

 for the manufacture of Scotch and of Kidderminster carpets. 



Pelt of Wool. Fig. 126 shows Lincolnshire locks taken from a 

 newly killed sheep with the wool in its natural condition, attached to 

 the skin. The curliness is characteristic of the woolly covering as it 

 hangs on the sheep. The basal parts of the curly locks are clean and 

 white, but the outer ends are charged with the yolk and the dirt 

 that has gathered on the wool while the sheep has moved about in 

 its natural habitat. The knottiness and tortuosities of the tips of the 

 fibres are due to similar causes. The curliness seems to become lost 



