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| 
and extending in one direction, viz. from the 
root to the point. This was the result of exa- 
mining a filament on an opaque object ; but when 
viewed as a transparent object, the edges of the 
leaves were more visibly apparent, appearing like 
so many teeth pointing in one direction, and 
thence properly termed the serrated edge. The 
fibre of wool thus magnified appears somewhat 
On examining differ- 
ent wools, Mr. Youatt found that the number of 
| 
like the common fir-apple. 
serrations corresponded to the felting qualities of 
the wool, being in the Saxony no less than 2,720 
in the inch, in the Southdown 2,080, and in the 
Leicester 1,860 alone. Thus fine wool differs 
from coarse in having a greater number of serra- 
tions and growing in a more spiral form, which, 
of course, increases the number of curyes; but 
to this we must add the fact of its being actually 
finer or smaller in its fibres; so that while a fibre 
of the coarsest wool is zo, the finest is z'55 of an 
inch in diameter. Jt can easily be conceived 
how this curious structure of the wool, particu- 
larly its serrated edge, must conduce to its felt- 
ing property. As long as the filaments are kept 
in the same direction, these serrations are com- 
paratively inoperative ; but torn to pieces by the 
card and mixed in every direction, the serrated 
edges must tend to hook and entwine together; 
and this must be pretty much in proportion to 
the number of serrations in a given space, parti- 
cularly when this is added to the fact that the 
wool is more curved as the serrations are nume- 
rous.” 
Wool is prepared for the spinner, either by the 
| process of combing, to suit it for worsted yarn 
| and worsted stuffs, or by the process of carding, 
to suit it for woollen yarn and woollen cloths. 
Combing divides the wool by means of fine steel 
teeth, and requires the comb to be kept hot and 
the wool to be oiled; and it frees the wool from 
_all knots and entanglements, renders it smooth 
to their maximum, and arranges its filaments in 
parallel order or side by side, somewhat in the 
manner in which the fibres of flax and hemp are 
assorted for spinning. Worsted yarn, formed by 
the outdrawing and the twisting of combed wool, 
is of every degree of fineness, from a thickness 
suitable for the coarsest substances to a thinness 
suitable for the most delicate stuffs ; and, in rare 
instances, it has been attenuated to the almost 
incredible rate of upwards of 90 miles of thread 
from one pound of wool,—and in the case of or- 
dinary superfine spinning is currently drawn out 
to the rate of about 224 miles from the pound. 
Carding is a widely different process from comb- 
| ing; it breaks and divides the wool into a multi- 
tude of fragments, which, from the spiral growth 
_ of the filaments, necessarily lie together in a 
curved state; and it co-operates with the serra- 
_ tured structure of the filaments, or the feltability 
| of the wool, to dispose all the fragments to lock 
and flowing, brings out its softness and elasticity | 
on being subjected to moisture and pressure. 
Carded wool, by means of the due and varied ap- 
pliance of mere moisture and pressure, is made 
into hats, beavers, caps, and numerous kinds of 
carpets, blankets, mantles, and cloths; and when 
it is first oiled,and then spun and woven, and 
then fullered, it serves as the material of all the 
dense and fine kinds of woollen cloth; and in this 
latter case, it is oiled in order to arrest its felting 
tendencies from going into action before the spin- 
ning and the weaving are effected,—and is after- 
wards fullered, by means of aluminons matter 
or clayey earth, for the double purpose of dis- 
charging the oil and of bringing its felting cohe- 
rences into sudden and complete play. 
“While the facility of felting is an important 
property in the case of all wool designed for the 
manufacture of cloth, and prepared by the card, 
it is not required in the case of wool intended for 
worsted, and prepared by the comb. Certain 
kinds of wool have this property in a higher de- 
gree than others, and are consequently better 
adapted for the making of woollen cloth. In gen- 
eral, the shorter kinds of wool having also fine> 
filaments, are those of which the lamine are 
most numerous and distinct, and are those ac- 
cordingly in which the felting property is the 
greatest. The property, however, is not in pro- 
portion to the tenuity of the fibres, since certain 
short and slender wools possess it in an inferior 
degree. Of all known wools, that derived from 
the Merino race possesses the felting property in 
the greatest perfection, and is accordingly the 
best adapted of all others for the making of 
cloth ; while the long and tough wool of the larger 
sheep is imperfectly adapted to the preparation 
of woollen yarn, and accordingly is never pre- 
pared by the action of the card. It is, therefore, 
the short and felting wools which alone are fitted 
for this process; and until a period comparatively 
recent, they were, with few exceptions in this 
country, never prepared by any other means. 
This gave rise to a popular distinction, long in 
use, and not yet entirely abandoned. The long 
wools were termed combing wools; the short, 
carding wools. 
longer applicable. By improvements in the wool- 
len manufacture, the means have been found to 
prepare the shorter and more delicate wools by 
the comb as well as by the card; and now a great 
proportion of all the short wool of this country 
is converted into worsted yarn. The Southdown 
wool, which was formerly, and until a recent pe- 
riod exclusively, prepared by the card, is now in 
a still larger degree prepared by the comb for the 
manufacture of worsted. It has fallen in price, 
indeed, from its being no longer used for the 
finer cloths; but the range of its utility has been 
greatly extended. Thus it is also with the wool 
of the Cheviot, the Norfolk, and other short- 
woolled breeds; and there cannot be a doubt 
that, although individual interests may have been 
_ together and effect the most thorough coherence | injuriously affected by the fall in the price, the | 
But these designations are no | 
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