The treatment of the flax fiber for spinning is similar to that of the cotton ([page 92]), being drawn and twisted and drawn out again, repeating this process several times.
Spinning.—Coarse and heavy yarns are spun dry, but fine yarn must be spun wet. Some varieties of velvet and velveteen are made from linen. Much of the so-called linen cloth of the present day is mixed with cotton or jute. The principles of weaving are the same as that of the cotton. See [page 93].
For many centuries the weaving of linen was conducted as a household industry. The first attempt to manufacture it on a large scale was in England in 1253. It is now one of the national industries. Linen is bleached after it is woven. In the olden times it was spread upon the grass, or lawn, and the action of the sun, air and moisture whitened it, and for this reason it was called "lawn," and it is still so designated. In the modern process of bleaching, the linen is first singed by being passed rapidly over hot cylinders which makes the cloth smooth. It is then boiled in lime water, washed and afterwards scoured in a solution of sulphuric acid, exposed to the air for a time and again scoured. Lastly, it is boiled in soda-lye water and dried over hot tin rollers. The gloss on linen is made by first mangling, then starching, and finally running it between heavy rollers.
Linen is chiefly manufactured in France, Belgium, Germany, England and the United States. France is noted for the finest kinds of lawn and cambric, while Ireland excels in the production of table linen. The largest portion of the sheeting and toweling is made in Scotland. The linen manufactures of the United States consist principally of toweling and twine.
WOOL.
Wool is the fleecy covering of sheep. It is distinguished by its waviness and the scaly covering of the fibers. The scales are more pointed and protrude more than those of hair. This gives it a tendency to mat or felt. The waviness of wool is due to the spiral structure of the fibers. Next to cotton, wool is the most extensively used of all the textile fibers.
The Romans developed a breed of sheep having wool of exceeding fineness, and later introduced their sheep into Spain. Here they were still further improved, and it was not many years until Spain led the world in the production of wool. The fine wooled Merino sheep originated here. Australia and the United States are also great wool-producing countries.
Classification.—There are three classes of wool, classified according to the length, fineness and felting qualities:
1. The carding or clothing wool.
2. The combing or worsted wool.