. Study of fabrics. rly covering of slieep andof similar animals, has been used from earliesttimes, and its production and value are increas-ing steadily. Unfortunately the production isnot keeping pace with the increasing demand, aswill be explained later. The great wool producing countries are Aus-tralia, South America, the United States, andSouth Africa. Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, andOregon produce the largest part of the woolraised in the United States. Australia is thelargest producer of the finest wool, althoughOhio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia furnisha fine quality which is a close ri
. Study of fabrics. rly covering of slieep andof similar animals, has been used from earliesttimes, and its production and value are increas-ing steadily. Unfortunately the production isnot keeping pace with the increasing demand, aswill be explained later. The great wool producing countries are Aus-tralia, South America, the United States, andSouth Africa. Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, andOregon produce the largest part of the woolraised in the United States. Australia is thelargest producer of the finest wool, althoughOhio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia furnisha fine quality which is a close rival. The quality of the wool depends upon thebreed of the sheep, feed, care, climate, and thepart of the animal from which it comes. Thebest wool in soundness of fiber, softness, andevenness of length comes from the shoulders 30 WOOL 31 and sides of tlie animal. The various kinds ofwool used in commerce are named either fromthe breed of the sheep or the locality in whichthe sheep is raised, as: Australian wools, New. COMPAEISON OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF WOOL Zealand wools, Cashmere, Shropshiredown, andMerino wools. The wool fiber is composed of three partswhich may be seen under the microscope: (a) Epidermis, or outer surface, which is 32 THE STUDY OF FABEICS composed of overlapping scales, similar to thoseon a pine cone. (b) Cortex, whicli consists of a layer of cel-lular fibrous substance, wMcb gives the fiberits chief strength and elasticity. (c) Medulla, or marrow of the fiber. The scales give wool its peculiar feltingproperty, due to the interlocking of the project-ing edges of the scales—the deeper the scalesfit into one another, the closer becomes thestructure of the material This property istaken advantage of in the manufacture of suchmaterials as broadcloth. It is also this prop-erty which necessitates extra care in the laun-dering of woolen materials to prevent shrink-age which is simply another name for the inter-locking of the scales. The difference between hair a
Size: 1586px × 1575px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectclothinganddress
