Wool, cotton, flax, and silk have been used since early times. Even in the earlier days these fibers were woven with great skill. It is not known which fiber was the first to be used in weaving. It is probable, however, that the possession of flocks and herds led to the spinning and weaving of wool before cotton, flax, or silk fibers were thus used.
Wool. The date at which prehistoric man discarded the pelt of skins for the woven fabric of wool marks the origin of the textile industry. Primitive sheep were covered with hair and the wool which now characterizes them was then a downy under-coat. As time went on and the art of spinning and weaving developed, the food value of sheep decreased, while the wool value increased. The hairy flocks were bred out, and the sheep with true wool, like the merino, survived. Sheep were bred principally for the wool and not for the mutton. Woolen fabrics were worn by the early inhabitants of Persia and Palestine. The Persians were noted for the excellent fabrics they wove from wool. Even the Hebrews of an early date were very skilful in weaving woolens.
The early Romans were a race of shepherds and the women of the higher classes wove the cloth in their own homes. When Caesar invaded England, he found in the southern part of the island people acquainted with the spinning and weaving of wool and linen. With the downfall of Rome, the art of weaving cloth in Europe was almost lost, and people again wore furs and skins.
By the end of the eleventh century English cloth manufacturing had begun to revive. In the northern part of Italy certain Italians had flocks of sheep and obtained very fine wool, and the people of Flanders continued to develop skill in weaving during the Dark Ages.
In the twelfth century the woolen manufacturers of Flanders had grown to be of great importance, and some of the finest goods were shipped from there to many countries.
In England, up to the time of Edward III, in the fourteenth century, the wool produced was exported to the Netherlands, there to be woven into cloth. Edward III invited many of the Flemish weavers to come to England to teach the English people how to make their own clothes. Edward was called the “Royal Wool Merchant” and also the “Father of English Commerce.” During Elizabeth’s reign in the sixteenth century the chief article of export was woolen cloth. In 1685 the Huguenots, who were driven from France, went to England to settle. These people were noted for their skill in weaving.
Patient effort in care and breeding of sheep showed a steady increase in the quantity and quality of wool until 1810, and the proportion of sheep to the population was then greater than at the present time.
Our own climate is highly favorable for sheep breeding, and it is certain that the American sheep has no superior in any wool growing country, in constitutional vigor and strength of wool-fiber, and no wools make more durable or more valuable clothing.
The obstacles to sheep husbandry in certain parts of the United States, like New England, are mainly climatic. The natural home of the only races of sheep which can be herded in large flocks is an elevated tableland, like the steppes of Russia and the great plains of Asia, Argentina, Montana, Wyoming, and others of our western states where an open air range is possible for nearly twelve months in the year. In these elevated lands there are grasses which are more nutritious in winter than in summer. The climate of New England does not permit the growth of such grasses. Every grass which will grow in New England becomes in the cold months frozen wood fiber. Then again there is the frigid and penetrating atmosphere which necessitates housing the sheep in winter, and these animals cannot be closely housed without engendering a variety of parasitic diseases.
Cotton. Long before history was written, cotton was used in making fabrics in India and China. Cotton has been for thousands of years the leading fabric of the East. The Hindoos have for centuries maintained almost unapproachable perfection in their cotton fabrics. It was the Arabian caravans that brought Indian calicoes and muslins into Europe.