Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/737

 WOOL 713 it grows on; gross feeding will increase the size of the fibre. Evenness and length of "staple" are desirable, and also "freeness," or that condition in which the fibres are not en- tangled with each other. Color is important, and for the reception of a brilliant dye it should be quite white. The length of wool ranges usually from 6 to 12 in. ; but if the animal is allowed to go long unshorn, the fibres become coarser and may attain a length of 40 in. or more. The usual weight of an alpaca fleece is from 10 to 12 Ibs. The whitest wool known in commerce is that of the Angora goat, termed mohair. The fleece, weighing from 2 to 4 Ibs. and free from under down, is very silky, hang- ing in curls of an average length of 5 in. The wool of the Cashmere goat, which is the under coat, is short, but peculiarly soft, rich, and lustrous. The task of separating it, fibre by fibre, from the hair or "hemp" of the outer coat, is very tedious, and, despite the cheap- ness of Indian labor, is one cause of the great cost of Cashmere shawls. The rearing of sheep dates from the earliest times ; numerous pas- sages in the Bible allude to sheep, wool, and woollen garments. Attic wool was celebrated from a very early period down to the first cen- tury B. C. The woollen fabrics of both Greece and Italy were excellent, although Strabo, liv- ing at the beginning of our era, says that the fine cloths worn by the Romans in his time were made of wool brought from Spain. Pliny describes several fine-wooled varieties of Span- ish sheep. Livingston, classifying the merinoes of Spain at the beginning of the present cen- tury, declares those of Castile and Leon to be the longest and to have the finest fleece ; those of Soria small, with very fine wool ; those of Valencia of fine wool, but with a very short staple. He gives as the average weight of the Spanish fleece 8 Ibs. for the ram and 5 Ibs. for the ewe, the loss of weight in washing being one half. The acclimation of the Spanish me- rino anywhere out of its native country ap- pears to have been first attempted in France by Colbert about 1670; but the first success- ful importation into France was in 1786, of about 300 sheep, selected by order of the king of Spain in response to the application of Louis XVI. These sheep, from the finest flocks in Spain, were placed on lands at Ram- bouillet, about 30 m. from Paris. Taken from many different flocks, they gradually blended into one variety, yielding a fleece no finer than the Spanish, but of greater weight, increasing from 6 Ibs. 9 oz. in 1796 to 9 Ibs. 1 oz. in 1801. The successful introduction of merino sheep into Saxony was somewhat earlier than into France ; the stock, in consequence of a differ- ent mode of rearing, became physically de- teriorated, but improved in fineness of fleece. (For a further account of the qualities of wool produced by different breeds, see SHEEP.) The English government records show repeated acts or edicts ostensibly forbidding the expor- tation of wool from the kingdom, but which for YEARS. TOTAL IMPOSTS. RceiporU, UK Retained for coniumptloQy 1U. Lbi. Value. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1878. 1874. 268,250,499 823,036.299 306,879,664 818,086,779 844,470,897 15,812,598 17.926,689 18,523,850 19,641,678 21,116,184 924&884 135,089,794 187,511,247 128,246,172 144,294,663 170,708,115 187,946,505 l6iG 194,790,607 200,176,284 some time really prepared the way for profit- able licenses of such trade, or for special grants to individuals. In the 13th century a con- siderable wool traflic with Italy and the Low Countries had grown up. The first act in- tended to prohibit the exportation of British wool was that of Edward III. in 1837. The purpose of restrictive measures appears to have been to secure control of the trade, with revenue in some instances to the crown, and to encourage woollen manufactures in England. Still in 1354 the export of wool amounted to 31,651 sacks at 6 a sack. Until 1 802 the impor- tation of foreign wool into England was free, and the quantity was increasing, the total from 1791 to 1799 being 34,011,369 Ibs., of which 33,190,595 was Spanish. At the demand of the wool growers a duty of 5. 3d. the cwt. was laid on imported wool in 1802 ; this was increased until in 1819 it had risen to 66*., nearly 50 per cent, on the average price. Great Britain is the great wool market of the world. The total trade in foreign and colonial wool since 1870 has been as follows: The imports in 1875 reached nearly 360,000,000 Ibs. More than one half of the entire quan- tity imported is from Australia; the other most important sources of supply are South Africa, South America, and the East Indies. There is also a considerable export of domestic wool, amounting to 10,077,619 Ibs. in 1874, and to 10,649,100 Ibs. in 1875. The reexports of foreign wool are chiefly to the United States, Germany, Belgium, -and France. The pro- duction of domestic wool has been estimated (clipped) at 164,000,000 Ibs. in 1874 and 162,- 000,000 in 1875. In 1875 there were about 30,000,000 sheep in Great Britain, and about 5,000,000 in Ireland. The production of wool is extensive in Russia, Germany, France, and Spain; it is largely consumed on the conti- nent. Besides those countries in which the production of wool is largely retained for home consumption, the three great sources of supply are Australia, South Africa, and the river Plate in South America. Accurate statistics of the production in these countries are not attaina- ble. The following statement of the produc- tion of clothing wool, compiled from the re- ceipts into Europe and the United States by John L. Bowes and brother of Liverpool, will indicate the relative producing capacity of each country and the approximate yield for each year preceding those given in the table. The results are for the amount clipped and i amount of pure wool, after making allowance for shrinkage :