Let us see now if we can understand how woolen cloth is made. The father of Dr. Nott had in those early days a single sheep. Some farmers would have half a dozen, others twenty-five or fifty. Now times are changed. We have but few sheep in the older settled country along the Atlantic coast. Those who raise wool to-day are apt to make it their sole business, doing nothing else. Most of the sheep of this country are raised upon the great plains and in the great valleys of the Western country.
Many flocks of sheep, numbering from five hundred to several thousand, may be seen in Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. There are to-day in Texas more than three million sheep; about an equal number in Wyoming; nearly as many in New Mexico, Oregon, California, and Ohio. We have in our country at the present time more than forty million sheep.
SHEEP-SHEARING.
Let us visit one of these sheep ranches. It is in the spring of the year. The warm weather has come. The sheep have had their thick fleeces to keep them warm through the cold winter. In the summer these thick, shaggy coats would be as burdensome to them as a winter overcoat would be to us. The ranchmen round up the flock, and taking them one by one, cut off with a huge pair of shears the long wool.
The wool is sold to the dealers, and sent away to the market. It finds its way to the woolen mill. It is sorted, washed, and scoured. It is then carded. The cards straighten out the long fibres of wool so that they may be readily spun. The mule or the spinning jenny spins it into yarn, twisting this yarn like a rope or thread so that it will be strong and will hold together. A part of the yarn is then arranged upon a great beam for the warp. The warp is the threads that run lengthwise of the cloth. The rest of it is wound upon little bobbins to be put into shuttles. The shuttle is thrown back and forth across the warp, thus weaving in the filling. This is done by means of what is called a harness. This harness holds up the alternate threads of the warp and presses down the other threads, so that when the shuttle is thrown through it carries the thread of the filling "under and over"; that is, under one-half of the warp threads and over the other half.
After the cloth is woven, it is put through the fulling mill, which beats it up thick and firm. After this come the various processes of finishing: shearing the surface so as to leave it smooth; brushing it so as to set the nap all one way and give it a smooth, even, glossy appearance. The quality of the cloth depends upon the quality of the wool used, the quality of the machinery which makes the cloth, and the skill of the workmen. A great deal of experience is necessary in making first-class goods.
We are now using the very best machinery in the world in the manufacture of our woolen goods. Possibly in the making of broadcloth and a few varieties of the better class of goods we may not yet be quite up to the older manufactories of Europe, but in cassimeres, worsted goods, blankets and carpets we are already able to compete with the products of the Old World. Although the price of labor in European countries is less than in America, our workmen do more work in a day and our machinery is of such improved patterns that we are generally able to compete in price.