Other countries grow sheep for clothing wools, too. Australia, England, South Africa, South America, Spain, and Germany all give much attention to sheep raising.
Courtesy of Chicago Flexible Shaft Co.
Fig. 118.—Sheep shearing by machinery.
This industry is very old. We read in the Bible that wool was used long ago and that King David of Israel wrote psalms as he tended his sheep on the hillside. Abel, the brother of Cain, was a keeper of sheep. Can you find these stories in the Bible? Writers of many ages tell about wool—Pliny, Homer, and Virgil. Alexander too, when he journeyed to India in early days, saw beautiful woolen shawls being made.
Some sheep give a better quality of wool than others. The Merino wool is the very finest. The camel furnishes a beautiful soft fiber. Then, there is the angora goat of Asia Minor, which provides us with mohair. This is a lovely soft fiber resembling silk. Can you find this country on your map? Look for Peru and for Chili. The sheep there furnish the alpaca and llama wools.
Some wool fibers are long, and some are quite short. The length of fiber, or staple as it is called, varies. An average length is 7 or 8 inches. How does this compare with the silk or linen fiber? Is it as long as cotton? The fibers also vary in strength and luster, fineness, softness, and elasticity. What do these words mean? Can you find them in your dictionary? The tiny serrations on the wool fiber cannot be seen with the naked eye. They are, however, very important; for it is this characteristic of wool which makes it felt, and, because these tiny serrations interlock, it is possible to make the fine texture of broadcloth and other fine wool materials. We shall study how later. Do you think we wish the tiny serrations to interlock when we wash woolen articles? If they do, what will happen to the garment? Do you know how this can be prevented? If you have sheep on your farm or near, will you bring some of the wool to school. It is dirty. Perhaps you can wash it at school, and see how soft and fine and lustrous it is. You may also be able to dye some. The center of the wool fiber is rather porous, and this enables the fiber to take up dye easily.