[11] A wire cage enclosed in a metallic shell which revolves at a high speed causing sixty or seventy per cent of the moisture to be removed.
CHAPTER III
WOOL SUBSTITUTES AND WASTE PRODUCTS
Remanufactured wool substitutes are extensively used in the manufacture of woolen and worsted goods. There is no need for the prejudice that is sometimes met regarding these reclaimed materials, for by their use millions of people are warmly and cheaply clothed. If the immense quantity of these materials were wasted, countless persons would be unable to afford proper clothing, as it is difficult to estimate what the price of wool would be; and it is also doubtful if a sufficient quantity could be produced to supply the need. In almost all instances the use of wool substitutes is for the special purpose of producing cloths at a much lower price.
The cloths made from waste products, such as noils, are not much inferior in quality to those produced from the wool from which the noils are obtained; but the great majority of cloths made from other waste products are much inferior. The following are the most important substitutes: noils, shoddy, mungo, extract-wool, and flocks.
Noils are the rejected fibers from the process of combing the different wools and hairs; thus, wool noils are from the sheep, mohair noils from the Angora goat, and alpaca noils from the Peruvian sheep.
Noils are divided into classes, namely, long-wool noils, short or fine-wool noils, mohair noils, and alpaca noils. They are all obtained in the process of combing, that is, the process which separates the long from the short fibers; the former are known as the “top,” and are used in worsted and in the production of mohair and alpaca yarns; while the latter are used to advantage in the production of many different kinds of woolen fabrics. With the exception of length, noils are practically of the same quality as the tops from which they are taken.
Long-wool noils are from the combings of such wools as Leicester and similar wools. These noils, like the wool from which they are obtained, are much coarser in quality and fiber than the short-wool noils. Occasionally, when strength is required in the fabric, these noils are used, and they are also mixed with short-wool noils. Many of the cheviot fabrics are made exclusively of these noils. They are also mixed with shoddy and cotton in the production of dark-colored fabrics, and in medium and low-priced goods requiring a fibrous appearance they are extremely useful.