148 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN SPAIN. 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN SPAIN.—No. 5. 
1. Rejina, or 1st quality. 
2. Fina, or 2d do, • 
3. Tercera, or 3d do. 
4. Cayda, or refuse. 
The sheep and shearers being dispatched, the first, 
thing to be done is, to weigh and pack up the fleeces, 
and convey them entire to a place to be scoured, if 
they are to go out of the kingdom, or to any consid¬ 
erable distance within it; for, as the wool is said 
never to lose less than half of its weight in the ope¬ 
ration of scouring, and often more when the sweat¬ 
ing has been violent, at least one half of the expense 
©f transportation is saved. As soon as the wool 
reaches the scouring places, it is given to the “ Apar- 
tadores,” whose business it is to separate it into three 
parcels of different qualities, as denoted by the above 
diagium. That taken from the back, flanks, and 
sides of the neck of the sheep is regarded as of the 
1st quality ; that from the breast, belly, sides of the 
haunches, and from the back pari of the neck, the 
2d quality; that from the cheeks and throat, the 
fore legs above the knees, the hams, and back part 
of the haunches, the 3 d quality; and that which is 
taken from the rump, the extremities, and from be¬ 
tween the legs is of the 4th quality y and is com¬ 
paratively worthless. Formerly, the 2d quality 
was taken only from the haunches and belly; the 
3d quality, from the hack part of the neck, the ; 
rheeks, throat, breast, fore legs and hams ; and the 1 
4th quality, from the top of the head, the tail, and 
the extremities of the hind legs. Hence, a different 
value is fixed upon each of these classes of wool, 
although it has long been a custom in some provinces 
to sell the whole pile together at a mean price. 
As soon as the wool is properly assorted, it is 
spread upon wooden hurdles and beaten with rods, 
in order to deprive it of as much of the dirt and dust 
adhering to it as possible, previous to its being scour¬ 
ed. In selecting a situation for a scouring place, a 
valley open to the sun is preferred, through which 
runs a stream of pure water, and where there are in¬ 
clined meadows sufficiently spacious for drying the 
wool. The fixtures and apparatus for scouring con¬ 
sist of one or more large copper caldrons, mounted 
on a furnace, and provided with appropriate cocks, 
pipes, gutters, &c.» for conducting hot water into 
three square pits or wells (one for each class of 
wool), lined with masonry, and are about a yard in 
depth. These wells are filled to half of their depth 
or more with wool, upon which there is let fall from 
the caldrons a current of water heated to a tempera¬ 
ture of 120° to 140° F., and even higher, according 
i to the degree of fineness and the condition of the 
, article to be scoured. The finer the quality and the 
more dirty the wool, the higher it becomes necessary 
to carry the temperature. The wool, thus disposed, 
is turned in the hot water in every direction with a 
| large fork or some other implement, for a space of 
live or six minutes, and is then spread on wooden 
hurdles, a yard or more in width, situated alongside 
the pits, in order to drain off the water and filth 
which has already begun to dissolve. Directly by 
the side of. these hurdles is a narrow aqueduct form¬ 
ed of masonry or stone, through which flows a cur¬ 
rent of cold water, into which the wool is nexf 
thrown. It is received at the head of the aqueduct, 
and is carried along its length by the force of the cur¬ 
rent, being pressed and rubbed in its passage by the 
feet of one set of men, until it is at last thrown out 
by another, upon an inclined plane formed also of 
masonry or of stone, where it is left to drain. At the 
lower end of the aqueduct is placed a small net for 
catching such locks as may accidentally escape the 
washers above, and thereby prevent them from being 
carried away. As soon as the wool is well drained, 
it is spread upon the grass in the neighboring mea¬ 
dows, and in the course of four or live hot sunny 
days, it becomes sufficiently dry to be packed up and 
: sent away to the manufactories or to the places oi 
shipment. It is usually put up in canvass bags, of 
various sizes, on each of which are marked an initial 
letter indicating its quality, and other letters or signs 
denoting the flock and sub-division it is from; so that 
the experienced wool-stapler is enabled to distinguish, 
at sight, the nature of each bale and the cavaua to 
which it belonged. 
Imperfect as this mode of scouring appears, if 
answers every purpose for preserving the wool dur¬ 
ing the longest voyage; and if a similar mode were 
adopted in the United States, particularly with the 
fme-woolled races, or those, the fleeces of which are 
intended for felts, instead of washing it on their 
backs, as is generally the case, it would doubtless be 
much improved. It is a well established fact, that 
if wool remains in the yolk for a period of six months 
or a year, and then be scoured, it will yield a greater 
weight of clean wool than if washed when newly 
shorn ; but in the process of fulling, the articles made 
from it become more loose and less uniform in their 
texture, are weaker, less durable, and consequently 
less valuable to the consumer. And here it is to be 
regretted that the interests of the wool-grower, of the 
manufacturer, and of the consumer, are not looked 
upon as the same. 
The fibre of wool is known to consist of small 
capillary tubes filled with one kind of oil, regarded 
as the marrow , and is surrounded by another oil, or 
rather soap, commonly called the yolk The latter, 
by weight, with other impurities, constitutes from 50 
to 75 p»er cent, of the wool, and in some cases even 
more, according to its quality. The finer the wool, 
the more abundant is the yolk. The solid part of the 
fibre is soluble neither in cold nor in hot water, unless 
heated to a certain point. From 22 to 29 per cent.. 
