WOOL. 



wool is a work of extreme difficulty ; but on the back of 

 the fheep we believe the feparation can be made with great 

 eafe. The foftnefs of the Indian wool is not even diftantly 

 approached in the very foftett Merino fleeces from Saxony 

 and Spain ; this may be proved by comparing the fineft 

 caffimere cloth from Saxony wool, with the (hawls or (hawl- 

 cloth of India. The ancient Tarentine fheep, called by 

 way of excellence ' molles oves,' were treated with pecu- 

 liar care by the Romans, and clothed in fliins, which we 

 believe was intended to preferve the foftnefs of the wool, as it 

 is ftill praftifed in fome parts of Afia for that purpofe. In 

 Europe no experiments have been made direftly to improve 

 the foftnefs of wool, though wool approaching in foftnefs 

 to that of India would be a moil valuable acquifition to 

 our manufaftures. To be convinced of this, it need only 

 be ftated, that the yarn from Indian wool has been fold 

 here at three guineas per pound, not on account of the 

 fuperior finenefs of the fpinning, but for the foftnefs of the 

 wool. For coarfe goods, indeed, fuch as blankets, car- 

 pets, and cloths called duffields, raifed with a hairy pile, a 

 confiderable degree of hardnefs or elafticity of the fibre is 

 an advantage ; but in all the finer articles of the woollen or 

 worlled manufafture, the oppofite quality is of great 

 value. 



The felting property of wool is intimately conneAed 

 with its foftnefs, the fofteft wools having the greateft ten- 

 dency to felt, and the hard wools are all defective in this 

 refpeft. The felting property appears to depend on a 

 peculiar ftrufture of the furface of the fibres, by which they 

 are difpofed to move in one direftion more eafily than 

 another. This is perceptible in drawing a hair through the 

 fingers, firfl from the end to the point, and again from the 

 point to the end ; in one direftion the hair feels perfeftly 

 fmooth, in the other direftion a peculiar roughnefs is felt. 

 The caufe of this is fuppofed to be owing to the furface of 

 the fibres having laminae, like the fcales of fifhes, with the 

 edges laid over each other. Indeed in the furs of fome 

 animals we have obferved with a powerful microfcope, that 

 the furface is compofed of laminae laid over each other, 

 refembling the arrangement of the leaves of the artichoke. 

 On this property the procefs of hat-making depends ; the 

 fhort fibres of the fur being repeatedly compreffed, move 

 and interlock with each other, fo as to form a compaft fub- 

 flance ; this motion is further aided by heat and moifture. 

 A fimilar procefs takes place to a certain degree in cloth 

 fubjefted to the ftrokes of a fulling-mill ; the fibres cohere, 

 and the piece contrafts in length and breadth, and its tex- 

 ture is rendered more compaft and uniform. This procefs 

 is effential to the beauty and ftrength of woollen cloth ; and 

 it is obferved, that the fofter wools felt in much lefs time 

 than the harder, and form a clofer pile on the furface of the 

 cloth, on which account it is a common praftice to mix a 

 certain quantity of foft wool with the hard, to enable the 

 former to felt with more facility. 



The length and foundnefs of the ftaple of clothing wool is 

 the quality next to be confidered. By the ftaple of wool is 

 meant the feparate locks into which the fleece naturally 

 divides in the fliin, each lock confifting of a certain number 

 of fibres, which coUeftively are called the ftaple. 



The beft length of ftaple for fine clothing-wool, if found, 

 is from two to three inches. If it be longer it requires 

 breaking down to prepare it for the procefs of carding. 

 Saxony wool, being generally more tender than the Spanifh, 

 and more eafily broken down, is fometimes four or five 

 inches long ; but as it works down eafily, it is preferred, on 

 account or the length of its ftaple, for fuch goods which 



Vol. XXXVIII. 



require fine fpinning, as cafTimeres, pelifTe cloth, and fhawls. 

 Much of the Englilh clothing-wool of a middle quality 

 is grown longer than is defirable for the purpofe of the 

 clothier, and when found is thrown out for the hofiery 

 trade, if the demand for the latter be great. As the grower 

 could not fhorten the length of the ftaple without diminifhing 

 the weight of the fleece, he has no motive to induce him to 

 grow fhorter wool ; but the objeft might be obtained with 

 much benefit to himfelf by fhearing twice in the year, once 

 the latter end of April, and again the latter end of Auguft ; 

 the wool would then be grown of a fuitable length for the 

 card, and from experiments that have been made we beUeve 

 the weight would exceed what can be obtained from one clip : 

 the increafe would not be lefs than fifteen per cent., and 

 the condition of the fheep thereby improved. 



The foundnefs of the ftaple in clothing-wools is not fo 

 important as in combing-wools ; but for fome kinds of co- 

 lours which injure the wool, it is particularly defirable that 

 the fibre fhould be found and ftrong ; this is judged of by 

 drawing out the ftaple and pulling it by both ends. The 

 foundnefs and ftrength of the ftaple depend primarily on 

 the healthy ftate of the animal, and on a fufficient fupply of 

 food. The ftaple on fome parts of the fleece will always be 

 more tender than on other parts, but by mixture they tend 

 to form a denfe pile on the furface of the cloth. 



The colour of the fleece fhould always approach as much 

 as poflible to the pureft white, becaufe fuch wool is not only 

 neceffary for cloths dreffed white, but for all cloths to be 

 dyed bright colours, for which a clear white ground is re- 

 quired, to give a due degree of richnefs and luftre. It is 

 probable that all fheep's-wool was firft of a black or 

 reddifh colour : the latter is often referred to by the ancients. 

 Before the invention of dyeing, coloured wool muft have 

 had a preference to white ; but after the aft of communi- 

 eating beautiful colours to the fleece, white wool would be 

 in the greateft demand, and thofe flieep which had white 

 fleeces would be felefted to breed from. The moft ancient 

 flocks of fheep which we have any record of are thofe of La- 

 ban and Jacob, defcribed in the book of Genefis. The fleeces 

 appear to have been principally brown, or fpotted and ftriped, 

 which was in all probabiUty the general colour of the flocks 

 throughout that part of Afia. We learn that in the courfe 

 of twenty years a great change was effefted in the colour of 

 a large portion of the fheep of Laban : though Jacob ap. 

 pears to have concealed from his father-in-law the method 

 by which this change was effefted, we are exprefsly told in 

 the fequel that it was by crofling with rams which had fleeces 

 of the colours required. 



Dark-brown or black wooUed fheep are not uncommon in 

 many parts of the European flocks, but fuch wool being 

 of lefs value than the white, thefe fheep ought always to be 

 expelled. Some of the Englifh fine-woolled fheep, as the 

 Norfolk and South-Down, have black or grey faces and 

 legs. In all fuch fheep there is a tendency to grow grey 

 wool on fome part of the body, or to produce fome grey 

 fibres intermixed with the fleece, which renders the wool 

 unfit for many kinds of white goods ; for though the black 

 hairs may be too few or minute to be detefted by the wool- 

 forter, yet when the cloth is ftoved they will become vifible, 

 forming reddifh fpots, by which its appearance is much in- 

 jured. The Herefordfliire fheep, which have white faces, 

 are entirely free from this defeft, and yield a fleece without 

 any admixture of grey hairs. We have no doubt that by 

 carefully rejefting thofe fheep firora the South-Down flocks, 

 in which the grey is moft apparent, this defeft might be 

 gradually removed. It is particularly defirable with refpeft 



4 K to 



