SHEEP AND WOOL 



I have been told that the deep purple paper In which the 

 old-time cone-shaped sugar loaves were wrapped was 

 always carefully saved and used for dyeing, especially 

 fine lamb's wool, which was designed for making gar- 

 ments for the baby. 



Early experiments were made in growing various 

 European plants for dyestuffs, especially in the South. 

 There is little on record of such attempts in Litchfield 

 County, ^it in the history of Goshen mention is made 

 of the fact that Lewis Mills Norton, one of the fore- 

 most men of his time, raised teasels for fulling cloth, 

 and "woad, a fermentative addition to indigo in the 

 pastel vat. Woad was raised to the amount of $1000 

 annually during part of the years between 18 19 and 



1844." 



It is quite possible that from this attempt to raise the 

 teasels for the fulling of the cloth came the wild 

 teasels which are occasionally found throughout the 

 county. 



In connection with dyestuffs it might not be amiss to 

 suggest that the occasional plants of the wild mignon- 

 ette (Resida liitola) may be the persisting descendants 

 sprung from some early attempt to cultivate the plant 

 for the sake of the good yellow which was obtained 

 from an infusion of this plant. One common name, 

 dyer's weed, alludes to its coloring properties. 



After cleaning thoroughly and dyeing, the wool was 



1:91] 



