ions, natural colored wools being frequently
intermixed to obtain particular shades for dress goods, tweeds,
knitting yarns, etc. Stock dyed wools are also blended for the
production of mixed colors, as browns, grays, Oxfords, etc. There is
practically no limit to the variety of shades and tints obtainable by
mixing two or more colors of wool together. The various quantities of
wool to be blended are spread out in due proportion in the form of
thin layers, one on top of the other, and then passed through a
machine called the teaser. The teaser consists of a combination of
large and small rollers, thickly studded with small pins, which open
the wool, pull it apart, and thoroughly intermix it. A blast of air
constantly plays upon the wool in the teaser and aids the spikes and
pins in opening out the fibers. The material is subjected to this
operation several times and is finally delivered in a soft, fleecy
condition, ready to be spun into yarn.

FOOTNOTES:

[10] Skins.

[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
fin