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Character of Fiber

Wool is the most important animal fiber. Strictly speaking the name applies only to the hairy covering of sheep, but the hair of certain goats and of camels is generally classified under the same terms. The wool fiber is distinguished by its scale-like surface which gives it its felting and spinning properties. Hair as distinguished from wool has little or no scaly structure being in general a smooth filament with no felting properties and spinning only with great difficulty. Fur is the undergrowth found on most fur-bearing animals and has in a modified way the scaly structure and felting properties of wool.

MICROSCOPIC APPEARANCE OF WOOL FIBERS

Value for Clothing

The great value of wool as a fiber lies in the fact that it is strong, elastic, soft, very susceptible to dye stuffs and being woven, furnishes a great number of air spaces, rendering clothing made from it very warm and light.

Quality of Wool

Climate, breed, and food influence the quality of the wool. Where the pasturage is barren and rocky, the wool is apt to be coarse.

MERINO RAMS

The Variety of Sheep Giving the Finest Wool.

Varieties of Sheep

There are supposed to be about thirty distinct varieties of sheep, nearly half of which are natives of Asia, one-third of Africa, and only four coming from Europe, and two from America. Wool is divided into two general classes—long and short staple, according to the average length of fiber. The long fiber wool is commonly carded, combed and spun into worsted yarn. The short fiber is usually carded and spun into woolen yarn. The short fiber obtained in combing long staple wool is called "noil." It is used for woolens.

Goat Wools

Alpaca, Vicuna and Llama wools are obtained from animals which are native to the mountains of Peru and Chile. The Angora goat, originally from Asia Minor, furnishes the mohair of commerce. This fiber does not resemble the hairs of common goats in any respect. It is a very beautiful fiber of silky luster, which constitutes its chief value.

ANGORA GOATS

Fur

The fur of beavers and rabbits can be and is used in manufacture, either spun into yarn or made into felt. The fibers of both animals enter largely into the manufacture of felt hats.

Sorting Wool

The fleece of sheep after being sheared is divided into different parts or sorted, according to the quality of the wool, the best wool coming from the sides of the animal.

WOOL FIBERS

a—Medium Wool; b—Camel's Hair; c—Diseased Fiber; d—Merino Wool; e—Mohair.

Scouring Wool

As it comes from the sheep, the wool contains many substances besides the wool fiber which must be removed before dyeing or spinning. This cleansing is called scouring. Before scouring, the wool is usually dusted by machines to remove all loose dirt. The scouring must be done by the mildest means possible in order to preserve the natural fluffiness and brilliancy of the fiber. The chief impurity is the wool grease or "yolk" which is secreted by the skin glands to lubricate the fiber and prevent it from matting.

ONE METHOD OF WOOL SORTING

1—The Best Grade; 2—Lowest Grade; 3—Fair; 4—Medium Grade.

Scouring Agents

In the scouring of wool, soap is the principal agent. Soft soap made from caustic potash is generally used as it is less harmful than ordinary hard soda soap. Potassium carbonate—"pearl ash"—is often used in connection with the soap. If the water for scouring is hard, it is softened with pearl ash. The temperature of wash water is never allowed to go above 120° F. The scoured wool weighs from a little over a half to one-third or less of the weight of the fleece.

Hydroscopic Moisture

Wool has the remarkable property of absorbing up to 30 per cent or more of its weight of water and yet not feel perceptibly damp to the touch. This is called "hydroscopic moisture." To this property wool owes its superiority as a textile for underclothing.

WOOL SORTING

The thoroughly cleansed fiber is made up chiefly of the chemical substance keratin, being similar in composition to horn and feathers. In burning it gives off a characteristic disagreeable odor. It is a substance very weakly acid in its nature, for which reason it combines readily with many dyes. Wool resists the action of acids very well, but is much harmed by the alkalis, being dissolved completely by a warm solution of caustic soda. High temperature harms wool.