Merino wool

“ Well tried is the endurance of the sheep-washer who, in late spring before shearing time, stands waist deep in some stream and seeks to cleanse the fleece of a flock of shivering Merinos driven bleating to the water, and dreading it like a tramp. But the fine Merino wool commands a price; the fleece is heavy and the breeder profits from that, not from the mutton. The flesh of the Merino requires for its consumption people who have been long besieged and who are hungry. ”

“ The bulk of American merino wools is of strong, sound, and healthy staple, having few weak spots in them. Those from the other States of the West are free from burrs. Those from California have this defect in a high degree. They are admirably fitted for blankets, flannels, and fancy cassimeres, and the great bulk of our card wool manufactures. They are so excellent, as a whole, that M. Ferneau says they are too valuable to be used for clothing purposes. They supply nine tenths of all the card or clothing wool consumed in American mills. ”

“ Merino sheep then became the rage, and large sums of money were spent in importing the finest specimens of the breed from the purest flocks in Germany. In a few years Australia took her place at the head of the list of fine wool-producing countries, and has held it ever since. The world never before saw merino wool so soft, so bright, or so long in staple. It produced a revolution in the manufacture of woollen fabrics, and it brought within the reach of the artisan cloths of a quality that only the wealthy could afford in the previous century. ”

“ By 1846 the wool had so greatly improved that it was exported to England. Forty years ago the exports consisted almost entirely of merino wool, but now seven-eighths is cross-bred. For this change there are two reasons—firstly, the rich, loamy soil does not suit merinos, which are apt to deteriorate in rank pastures, and, secondly, the trade in frozen meat has made such enormous strides that estancieros are anxious to obtain mutton breeds, especially Lincolns. The Lincolnshire breeders drive a flourishing trade with Buenos Aires, and as much as 1,000 guineas is often given for a ram. ”

“ So peculiar and valuable is the wool, that it sells at 25 per cent above the best merino wool: even the fleeces of half-bred animals are valuable, and are known in France as the "Mauchamp-merino." It is interesting, as showing how generally any marked deviation of structure is accompanied by other deviations, that the first ram and his immediate offspring were of small size, with large heads, long necks, narrow chests, and long flanks; but these blemishes were removed by judicious crosses and selection. ”

“ Wars and bad government in Spain have destroyed the export trade in merino wool, but the breed, transplanted into Germany, has multiplied and even improved. Our finest wool is obtained from Silesia, and the breed is cultivated with more or less success in many parts of the European continent. ”

“ At what point an animal fibre ceases to be hair and becomes wool it is impossible to determine, because the one by imperceptible gradations merges into the other, so that a continuous chain can be formed from the finest and softest merino to the rigid bristles of the wild boar. Thus the fine soft wool of the Australian merino merges into the cross-bred of New Zealand; the cross-bred of New Zealand merges into the long English and lustre wool, which in turn merges into alpaca and mohair-materials with clearly marked but undeveloped scale structure. ”

“ The other day I was shown some Merino wool under the microscope. To the naked eye the wool, as it comes from the sheep, seems to be made of fine curly hairs. It is only by putting it under a microscope that one can see it differs from hair. Enlarged to the size of a lead pencil, each wool fibre is seen to be covered with sharp scales which overlap one another like those of a fish. The scales are so close together that there are several thousand of them on a piece of the fibre an inch long. The fibre is so fine that a pound of it can be spun into a thread one hundred miles long. ”

“ This outer covering repels the rain, the snow, and the wind like a coat of mail, thus fitting the Merino to endure exposure beyond any other sheep. On opening the crust, the wool is found of a brilliant, golden hue, sparkling with yolk, and firmly held together in masses, hardly distinguishable from the cocoon of the silk-worm. The wool closely covers every part of the body, and frequently the entire legs and head, excepting a part of the face. ”

“ An increased demand for mutton will stimulate sheep farming, but it will also stimulate the substitution of crossbred for merino breeds; and the resultant of these two opposite tendencies upon the supply of wool is logically indeterminate. As a matter of history we know that the development of cold storage in the eighties (which we may regard for the present purpose as equivalent to an increased demand for Australian mutton) caused considerable perturbation in the woollen and worsted industries of Yorkshire. They were faced with a dwindling supply and a soaring price of merino wool ”

“ Under the influence of moisture and pressure, aided by alkalis or acids, masses of wool thoroughly mat together, by the mutual interlocking of the fibres. It is thus that the shrinking and thickening of woollen textures under washing is accounted for, the capacity of wool cloth for felting or fulling being due to this condition of the fibre, possibly along with a certain shrinkage of the true fibre mass. The serrations are most numerous, acute, pointed and distinct in fine merino wools, as many as 2800 per in. ”

“ 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? ”

“ Indeed, sir, when gentlemen talk of fine fleeces weighing 8, 9, or 10 lbs. they forget to mention "including gum, yolk, dirt, and other substances adhering to the fleece."
Some years since, I saw a lot of "old fashioned Merino" wool at a factory in Massachusetts, which the manufacturer assured me would lose 55 per cent. in cleansing. "Indeed," said he, "we can never estimate the dirt in such wool correctly; it always exceeds our estimate, and we invariably suffer loss." ”

“ The fiber is not quite as fine as Saxony, but it makes a good thread, is fairly sound in staple, and is of good length and color. It is very wavy and serrated. The longest and best of this wool is used for the very finest worsted yarns, and will spin up to 130’s counts. [5] The sheep are descendants of the original Spanish Merino. Cross bred Port Philip wool is from the same Merino sheep crossed with Leicesters, which yield a medium quality fleece of sound fiber and good quality for spinning counts from 40’s to 56’s. The yarn has a bright, clear appearance. ”

“ Through judicious crossing of the fine-wooled Merino with high-grade long-wooled breeds, the highest type of wool fibre has been developed, combining suppleness, fineness, and other desirable qualities with lustre and length of staple. It is suitable for combing as well as carding.
Wool may be considered a product of cultivation, or domestication, as no wild animals are known which resemble the wool-bearing sheep; and few natural products have been more modified and diversified by man to meet his various needs. ”

“ The merino is a white short-wool sheep, the male having spiral horns, the ewes being generally hornless. It is bred chiefly for its wool, because, though an excellent grazer and very adaptable, it matures slowly and its mutton is not of the best quality. The wool is close and wavy in staple, reaching 4 in. in length, and surpasses that of all other sheep in fineness; it is so abundant that little but the muzzle, which should be of an orange tint, and hoofs, are left uncovered. The best wool is produced on light sandy soils. ”

“ This curious result seems merely to be an exaggerated tendency natural to the Merino breed, for as a great authority, namely, Lord Somerville, remarks, "the wool of our Merino sheep after shear-time is hard and coarse to such a degree as to render it almost impossible to suppose that the same animal could bear wool so opposite in quality, compared to that which has been clipped from it: as the cold weather advances, the fleeces recover their soft quality." ”

“ It is known, that in sheep fed upon chalky districts, wool is apt to get coarse; but in those upon a rich loamy soil, it becomes soft and silky. The ardent sun of Spain renders the fleece of the Merino breed harsher than it is in the milder climate of Saxony. Smearing sheep with a mixture of tar and butter, is deemed favourable to the softness of their wool.
All wool, in its natural state, contains a quantity of a peculiar potash-soap, secreted by the animal, called in this country the yolk ”

“ Of European wools, the finest is yielded by the Merino sheep, the Spanish and Saxon breeds taking the preference. The Merino sheep, now naturalized in Australia, from whence large quantities of wool are exported, supplies an excellent fleece; but all varieties of sheep-wool, reared whether in Europe or Australia, are less soft to the touch than that grown in India, or than the wool of the llama of the Andes. The best of our British wools are inferior in fineness of texture to any of the above-mentioned varieties, but for the ordinary purposes of the manufacturer they are unrivalled. ”

“ The general principles of breeding cattle and sheep, as laid down by the most approved authorities, must be taken with some exceptions, when applied to the Merino. Good form and feeding qualities are desirable in this breed, but they are not as essential as with the others. Wool is the great object, and if this be sufficiently fine, even, and abundant, something may be abated in the perfection of form. Early maturity, so much sought after in the mutton sheep, cannot be reconciled with the great longevity, and the prolonged productive powers of the Merino. ”

“ Besides, mutton and wool being about an equal consideration with this class, they want larger and earlier maturing breeds. Above all, they want a strong, hardy sheep, which demands no more care than their cattle. The strong, compact, medium-woolled Merino, or, more generally, its crosses with coarse varieties, producing the wool classed as ordinary, is the common favorite. In the Northwest, this is especially the case, where the climate is still worse for delicate sheep. ”

“ Most of the best merino wools come from Australia, the next best from South Africa, and from South America. The latter have one fault in that they contain many spiral burrs which are difficult to remove, and which frequently get through the machines and show up as imperfections in the cloth. Europe grows some very fine short wools, but these hardly ever leave the countries they are grown in. ”

“ American textile manufacturers are finding it advantageous to have their combing done by those who make the work a specialty rather than to do it themselves. In the manufacture of tops all varieties of combing wools are used: Australian, Merino, and Crossbred wools, South American Merino and Crossbred wools, Cape Merino wools, Merino and Crossbred wools grown in the United States, the lustrous wools of pure English blood, Mohair from Asiatic Turkey, and Alpaca from the Andes. Tops are sold to worsted spinneries. ”

“ At the South, on the contrary—where these disadvantages do not exist to so great an extent, certainly—wool varying from good medium upward are more profitable staples for cultivation than the lower classes; and in that section a high degree of fineness in fleece has been sought in breeding the Merino—the four-pound fine-fleeced Merino having received marked attention. This is a far more profitable animal than the Saxon, other things being equal—which is not the case, since the former is every way a hardier animal and a better nurse ”

“ You have often had to wear a merino frock and merino socks, I dare say; but perhaps you do not know that the fine soft wool of which these are made comes from Spain. It is more interesting to know that there is a tradition which says that the particular breed of sheep from which this wool is taken, came originally from England; their coats improved greatly in quality under the genial climate of Spain, and some people have supposed that the name merino is a corruption of trans marino, because they came from over the sea. ”

“ The presence of the cotton and the wool may both be detected by an examination of the straggling fibres, the wool curving and bending in its usual characteristic manner, whilst the cotton fibres show their twisted convolutions and their furtive breaks into angles. The usual kinds of merino yarns used for underwear are folded two-ply, with a slack twist which 85seldom exceeds more than a few turns per inch. In spinning such yarns it is sought to throw the wool to the thread surface as far as possible so as to increase the comfort to the wearer and give improved handle. ”