42 PROPERTIES OP WOOL. 



mystery. This gave rise to numerous speculations as to the 

 primary cause or causes, many of which, although plausible 

 at the time of th'eir publicity, now that the true cause has 

 been discovered, appear sufficiently ridiculous. But the 

 keen sagacity of man at length mastered the subject by sur- 

 mising the correct theory, without the means, however, to 

 demonstrate it, for want of microscopes of adequate power. 

 To M. Monge, the distinguished French chemist, are we 

 indebted for the first correct view of the structure of the 

 fibre, which, from its peculiarity, mainly depends the felting 

 principle. He asserted " that the surface of each fibre of 

 wool is formed of lamellae, or little plates which cover each 

 other from the root to the point, pretty much in the same 

 manner as the scales of a fish cover that animal from the 

 head to the tail, or like rows placed over one another, as is 

 observed in the structure of horns ;" and he accounts for the 

 felting process in the following way : 



" In making a felt which is to constitute the body of a hat, 

 the workman presses the mass with his hands, moving them 

 backwards and forwards in various directions. This pres- 

 sure brings the hairs or fibres against each other, and multi- 

 plies their points of contact. The agitation gives to each 

 hair a progressive motion towards the root ; but the roots 

 are disposed in different directions — in every direction ; and 

 the lamellae of one hair will fix themselves on those of an- 

 other hair, which happens to be directed a contrary way, 

 and the hairs become twisted together, and the mass assumes 

 the compact form which it was the aim of the workman to 

 produce. If the wool is in cloth and subjected to the pro- 

 cess of fulling, the fibres which compose one of the threads, 

 iv^hether of the warp or woof, assume a progressive move- 

 ment ; they introduce themselves among those of the threads 

 nearest to them, and thus by degrees all the threads become 

 felted together, the cloth is shortened in all its dimensions, 

 and partakes both of the nature of cloth and of felt." No 

 language can be employed which will convey a more cor- 

 rect and vivid impression of the process of feltingf than the 

 foregoing. 



Through the indomitable perseverance of Mr. Youatt, the 

 author of a valuable, though too diffuse, treatise on British 

 sheep-husbandry, Monge's theory was finally demonstrated, 

 although he was often frustrated, and almost yielded to de- 

 •pair, from the imperfections of his instruments. The con- 



