om which it comes.
These animals have also been successfully bred in Spain and France.
The hair is pure white, fine, wavy, and of good length, and possesses
a high luster. It is used in making plushes, velvets, astrakhans, and
curled fabrics, also half silk goods and fine wraps.

=Alpaca Wool= is the fleece of the Peruvian sheep, which is a species
of llama. The staple is of good length and soft, but is not quite as
lustrous as mohair, the natural colors being either white, black,
brown, or fawn. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of dress goods.

=How Wool is Marketed.= The bulk of the wool of commerce comes into
the market in the form of fleece wool, the product of a single year's
growth, and cut from the body of the animal usually in April or May.
The first and finest clip, called lamb's wool, may be taken from the
young sheep at the age of eight to twelve months. All subsequently cut
fleeces are known as wether wool and possess relatively somewhat less
value than the first clip.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Hair is straight and glossy, stronger and smoother than wool, and
grows sometimes as long as twenty inches.

[2] Spinning is a process by which long or short fibers are twisted
into a continuous thread.

[3] A process of finishing cloth by condensing the fibers so as to
make the cloth stronger and firmer.

[4] See footnote, page 39.

[5] The size of yarn is technically called the "counts" and is based
on the number of 560 yard lengths required to weigh one pound. In this
case 130's count = 130 x 560, or 72,800 yards of yarn to a pound.

[6] An encrusting compound of dirt and grease formed on the fleece.

[7] See page 54.

[8] Mixtures.

[9] After wool fibers are combed they are called top.

CHAPTER II

WOOL SORTING

Fleece wool as it comes to the mill is rolled up in bundles and must
be sorted. This process consists in sorting and classifying the fibers
of the fleece. Not only do the various species of sheep furnish widely
different qualities of wool, but different qualities are obtained from
the same animal, according to the part of the body from which the wool
is taken. This variation in some instances is very marked, and
sometimes is greater than that which separates the wools of the
different breeds of sheep. Hence the sorting and classing of wool
become necessary for the production of good, sound yarn of even
quality.

An attempt to utilize the fleece as a whole would result in the
sp