‘WOOL.
got without combing, some wools being found to
have naturally fewer serratures, and a less wavy
structure, than others. These are consequently kept
separate, and are called combing-wools; whilst
those which are much waved, and have many
serratures, are called carding-wools, from their being
simply prepared for spinning by carding-machines.
The serratures or points of the scales are exceedingly
small, and require the aid of a good microscope to
see them. They vary from 1200 up to 3000 to an
inch.
‘Wool is the most important of all animal sub-
stances used in manufactures, and ranks next to
cotton as a raw material for textile fabrics. Its use
as a substance for clothing is almost universal in the
temperate regions of the globe.
Previous to 1791, British woollen cloths were made
almost wholly of native-grown wools. A% that time,
the whole supply of the country could not have
much exceeded 100,000,000 1bs. The merino wool
of Spain then began to displace them in the best
kind of goods, and the imports from that country
reached their maximum in 1805, being in that year
7,000,000 Ibs. Before 1820, the German wool had
begun to supersede the Spanish, and was imported
largely till 1841. After that, the cheaper wool of
the British colonies to a great extent took the place
of the German, and the latter is now chiefly used
for only the finest cloths.
Wool varies in character according to the pecu-
liar breed of sheep which yields it, and also with
the nature of the soil, food, shelter, and climate.
In a wool of first-rate quality, the fibres are fine,
soft, elastic, sound, of good colour, and free from
deleterious or troublesome impurities : the commer-
cial value of any sample depends, therefore, upon the
extent to which it possesses these properties. If
it be a combing wool, it will also depend upon its
length of staple.
For technical purposes, shorn fleeces are divided
into two classes, one called %ogs or fegs, the other
wethers or ewes. The former are the first fleeces
shorn from the sheep, the latter are those of the
second and succeeding years; bubt the meaning of
these terms varies a little in different districts.
The fleeces of yearlings are, as a rule, longer in the
staple, and otherwise of superior quality to the wool
of older animals. In the south of England, it is
customary to clip lambs, and the wool so obtained
is called shorn lamb’s wool. Wool taken from the
skins of slaughtered sheep is called skin-wool or
pelt-wool, and is of a more variable quality than
fleece-wool, on account of its being obtained in all
stages of growth.
As long-stapled wools are used for worsted goods,
and short-stapled for woollen goods, the various
breeds which yield these two leading kinds are
naturally divided into the long-woolled and short-
woolled classes of sheep. The Lincoln, the Leices-
ter, and the Cotswold breeds are considered good
types of the former; and the Down, the Welsh,
and the Shetland breeds, of the latter.
The following brief notice of the characteristic
properties of the various native wools, is founded
upon the description given of them in the Jury
Report of the International Exhibition of 1862,
Class IV.
Of the ¢long wools,” the Lincoln has greatly risen
in value of late years. It is coarse, of great length,
and silky in appearance, so that it is well adapted
for ¢lustre’ goods, in imitation of alpaca fabrics.
Leicester wool is highly esteemed for combing. It is
rather finer in the hair, but not usually so soft and
silky in the staple as the last. Cotswold wool is
similar to the Leicester, but somewhat harsher. It
is not suited for lustre goods. Highland wool is
long stapled, and of coarse quality, but known to
be susceptible of great improvements. The practice
of ¢smearing’ greatly depreciates its value. It is
chiefly used for the coarsest kinds of woollen fabrics,
as carpets, rugs, and similar articles. It is also
used for Scotch blankets.
Of the ‘short wools, the different breeds of
Downs partake very much of the same characters,
but soil and climate so far affect them. The South
Down is a short-stapled, small-haired wool, the
longer qualities of which are put aside for combing
purposes, and the shorter for the manufacture of
light woollen goods, such as flannel. The Hamp-
shire Down differs from it in being coarser, and in
having the staple usually longer. The Oxford Down,
again, exceeds the last in length and coarseness of
staple. The Norfolk Down, on the other hand,
when clean, is of a very fine and valuable character.
The Shropshire Down is a breed increasing in im-
portance, and is longer in the staple, and has more
lustre than any of the other Down breeds. Ryelands
wool is fine and short, but the breed is nearly
extinet. The Welsh and Shetland wools have a
hair-like texture, deficient in the spiral form, upon
which depends the relative value of high-class wools.
They are only suited for goods where the properties
of shrinking and felting are not required. Shetland
wool is obtained of various natural tints, which
enables it to be used for producing different pat-
terns without dyeing.
Of the intermediate wools, Dorset is clean, soft,
and rather longer, and not quite so fine in the staple
as the Down breeds. The Cheviot has increased
very much of late years in public estimation. It is
a small, fine-haired wool, of medium length, and is
suitable for woollen and worsted purposes, for which
it is largely used.
Some of the British colonies are very important
wool-producing countries, Australia in this respect
standing far in advance of all other countries what-
ever. The Australian wool has in general a beau-
tiful, short, silky staple, well adapted for the manu-
facture of soft, pliable, and elastic fabrics. All the
settled districts of this continent have been found
well adapted to the growth of fine-woolled sheep,
and the extraordinary increase in the flocks forms
one of the most remarkable features of the colony.
The breed has sprung from three merino rams and
five ewes taken out by Captain M¢Arthur in 1797.
The alpaca wool grown in Australia since the
creature was introduced some years ago is of inferior
quality ; but this is supposed to have arisen from
rearing the animals too near the coast, and hopes
are now entertained of succeeding better with it
inland.
The wool of Cape Colony has of late years been
greatly improved by the introduction of merinos,
and, as will be seen from the table below, the
exports from it are increasing very rapidly.
Among the imports from India, wool has of late
become an important article, the quantity having
risen from about 2,500,000 1bs. in. 1840, to 20,000,000
lbs. in 1860; but the supply has fallen off a little
since. A great deal of the Indian wool is coarse
and hairy, and can only be used for low-class goods.
We may state here that the most costly of all wools
is obtained from the Tibetan goat, and is found
next the skin, under the thick hair of the animal.
From it, the far-famed Cashmere shawls are made.
The highest price of any quality which is sold is
from 6s. to 7s. per 1b. in the native markets, but the
Maharajah of Cashmere keeps a strict monopoly
over the best kind.
Turning now to European countries, it is some-
what sad to think that Spain, the native country of
the merino, which not so long ago sent all the wool
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