wool, leaving the latter in a
fine, soft, silky condition.

Short-stapled wools can be treated with soap and a little soda ash,
but too much of the latter is to be avoided. Coarse and greasy wools
may be scoured with soap and soda ash, or other alkali which is almost
necessary to remove the large amount of grease these wools contain.

Practically the only alkaline products now in use are the various hard
and soft soaps, and the carbonates of soda and potash in their various
forms of soda ash, soda crystals, potashes, pearl ash, etc. Ammonia
and its compounds are rarely used, while stale urine, which acts in
virtue of the ammonia it contains has practically gone out of use.

#Hand-Scouring.#--Wool scouring by hand is easily done and requires few
appliances, simple tubs or vats of sufficient capacity in which steam
pipes are placed, so that the scouring liquors can be heated up. The
best temperatures to use are about 130 deg. to 140 deg. F., and it is
not advisable to exceed the latter, as there is then some risk that the
alkali may act on the fibre too strongly.

The strength of the scouring liquor necessarily varies with the kind
of wool being treated, and with the kind of alkaline product used; if
soft, fine wools are being treated, then the liquor may be made with 1
to 2 lb. of soap to 10 gallons of water (if a mixture of soap and
alkali is used, then it may contain from 1/4 to 1/2 lb. soda ash, and
1/2 lb. to 1 lb. of soap). For coarse, greasy wools these quantities
may be increased by about one-half. The best plan of scouring by hand
is to treat the wool in a tub with a scouring liquor for about half an
hour, then to squeeze out the surplus liquor and to treat again in a
new liquor for half an hour; this liquor may be used for a new batch
of wool. The wool is often put into nets, and these are lifted up and
down in the liquor so as to cause it to penetrate to every part of the
wool.

It is not advisable to work the wool about too much, otherwise (p. 019)
felting might ensue and this must be avoided. The felting of the wool
is one of the troubles of the wool-scourer and is often difficult to
avoid, it is mostly brought about by excessive working of the wool
during the process, and by the use of too high a temperature in the
scouring bath. The remedies are obvious to the practical man, as
little handling of the wool as possible, and at as low a temperature
as possible. Still it is necessary to see that the s