170 
Wool and its Uses. 
paper read by me in 1881 to the Cirencester Chamber of Agri- 
culture, wliich will also serve to correct a small point in Earl 
Cathcart's paper on the washing of wool : — 
" The wool looks sometimes as if it had been well washed and afterwards 
riddled over with yellow dust. This, I suppose, arises from the sheep having 
to be driven a long way to the washing place. There are, I know, great 
difficidties to get over to remove this fault, but if you would do so you would 
give to your wool an increased value. It should be borne in mind that 
wool is never washed witli so little injury to the fibre as when it is washed 
on the sheep's back. The increased severity required to get dirty wool 
clean iu the process of manufacture is injurious, and conseqtiently reduces its 
value. I saw an article in ' Wool ' the other day in which the use of hot 
water and soap was advocated. With this idea I entirely disagree. I ven- 
ture to say that the use of hot water or soap is positively injurious to 
English wool. AVhat I would recommend (of course with all reservations as 
to convenience) is tub-washing in cold water. 
" The following manner has, I believe, proved successful : — Having two 
tanks, each capable of holding, say, five slieep, let the sheep be placed in tank 
number one and washed in the usual manner ; then let them be plunged in 
the second tank, which must be kept constantly supplied with clear water — 
or, better still, let them have a swim in running water. It should be re- 
membered that the first tank should be kept as greasy as possible from the 
yolk which exudes from the sheep, only as much water being added as the 
sheep take out with them. This yolk is a kind of natural soap, and is quite 
sufficient to wash the sheep properly if proper advantage is taken of it." 
I would only add to this that all recent science shows alkali 
to be injurious to wool, and where it is necessary to be used in 
order to get rid of " dirt " it can only be used safely by experts 
who know how to minimise its effects. Manufacturers prefer 
buying wool which has not been washed at all to wool which has 
been scoured with soap, especially where it has to be dyed into 
delicate colours. 
There are many faults in English clips arising from careless- 
ness, such as the presence of straw and chaff iu the wool, which 
may appear trifles to the farmers. But these faults all cost 
money to rectify ; and when home wools have to compete with 
the wool of the colonies, which requires no such expense, these 
trifles grow into importance. 
Let English wool-growers keep in their minds the fact that 
there is a growing export trade in their wools which amounts 
now to about 23,000,000 lbs. annually, and which may be 
increased if these apparently trifling points are properly attended 
to. More than half of this export trade is to America, where it 
has bd. per lb. duty to pay, and where labour is expensive. Ten 
cents a pouiid is a heavy duty to pay on dirt and gi'ease, and 
American buyers are not likely to come away from home for wool 
which requires labour to fit it for use. It may bo as well to note 
here that one of the favourite wools with export buyers is Irish, 
which is the best washed and the best got-up of any iu the 
United Kingdom, and is preferred for these reasons. 
