WOOL DESCRIBED AND CLASSIFIED 69 



of another adjacent thereto, and become entangled or in- 

 terlocked. The deeper the scales fit into one another, the 

 closer is the structure of the thread. The process of inter- 

 locking is aided by the curly nature of the fiber, which 

 inclines it to twist around any adjacent object. It is fur- 

 ther aided by what is termed the milling process. During 

 this process pressure is applied to it in the presence of 

 some lubricant, such as soap and warm water. The felt- 

 ing process is accompanied by shrinkage of a kind that 

 lessens the area covered by the cloth, but adds to its 

 thickness. 



The felting value of wool is largely determined by the 

 number of the serrations per inch in the fiber and by the 

 freedom with which the upper edge of the side projects 

 from the fiber. The process known as carbonization 

 opens out the scales and thereby increases felting power 

 in the wool. A similar result follows the application of 

 lime or acid to the wool on pelts. The serrations are the 

 most numerous and the most clearly defined in wool of 

 the various Merino types. These serrations vary greatly 

 in the different wools. More commonly the larger and 

 coarser the wool, the fewer are the number of the serra- 

 tions. Merino wools have been grown in Vermont with 

 3,000 serrations to the inch, but the average is somewhat 

 fewer than 2,000. The best Saxony wools contain 2,800 

 to the inch and the best Australian, 2,400. Southdown 

 wool contains about 2,000, Leicester wool 1,800 and com- 

 mon domestic wool about 1,200. In some of the inferior 

 wools the number is sometimes less than 500. These 

 short-stapled carding wools are made into broadcloths, 

 and the thicker sorts of woolen clothing. They are also 

 used for the production of woolen yarns. 



Combing wools are prepared for spinning by a proc^ 

 ess known as combing. In this process the fibers are 

 made to lay parallel with one another preparatory to 

 spinning them into thread, while in carding wools they 

 become inextricably intermixed. As previously shown. 



