Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1803-10-11
To make good Cloth, farmers should be more

To make good Cloth, farmers should DC more
attentive to their sheep, and not sell off their best
lambs. Sheep should never be yatded with cat
tie they should be kept in good flesh, that the
wool may be lively, and fed in rack SO construct
ed that seed and chaff cannot fall from the hay
into the wool, for these essentially injure It. At
Ter sheep are washed, they should not be shorne m
less than six days, that the animal oil may have
time to penetrate the pores Of the wool this
oil preserves the wool alive and keeps it pliabs.
In this country suitable attention has not been
paid to the sorting of wool. In European ma.
nufactories, the fleece is divided into hve-or SIX
sorts, from fine to coarse. The best wool grows
from the kidney over the shoulders to the neck /;
this should be used for the finest of cloth The
remainder should be divided for the varous uses
for which it may be designed. BY thus sorting
wool, there will be no waste; bur by mixing fine
and coarse in the same piece, the cloth cannot be
dressed handsome, nor do half the service it other
wise would. All coarse ends should be cut of /;
if they oe spun and wove into the cloth no co.
lour can be impressed on it either clear OF even,
for fine and coarse wool will not equally receive
any colour. After wool is sorted, it should be
carefully pulled apart, and all the robs be taken
out when it is well picked, one pound Of soft
fat, or hogs lard to seven of wool should be well
mixed. After tits rendered soft and plable by
the grease, it should be we'll broke with good
cards then again pulled apart and well mixed to.
gether. Let one person spin the wool, that
the yarn may be equally wrought the filing
should be spun with the wheel cross banded. Let
the wool be kept clean from dirt or lint while
spinning and cleanse the yarn before it is wove.
Avoid old bar nesses in weaving, for their lint,
&c. essentially njure the cloth be careful to
beat equally, for if one part Of sink be beat
Closer than the other, the cloth will cookie; to
avci' this it would be well also TO weave each
skien by itself; make good selyagc and trim as
shears before the cloth is fulled, they are picked
out with tweazers by the clother, leaving holes
in the cloth which njure it.
When cloth is made III conformity to these di
rections, there is no danger of its working bad in
the mill it will not cookie but be dressed neatly.
If number of hands be employed in spinning a
piece you may expect the cloth will cookie If the
mill and such can never be dressed TO appear de.
Gently. IT wool be not properly manufactured
by the cards, wheel and loom, It is impossible for
any clothier TO dress it even decentIy. All cloth
that is not to be fulled should be spur from fine
wool, well mixed, or they will not equally receive
colours.
People would do well TO make their cloth EARL
er in the season than usual. September and DC.
tober are the most favorable months for dressing
cloth. 1t is much better to be dressed in warn,
weather than in cold.
Many of our farmers will sell their wool, and
buy foreign cloth tor common wear. This wool
is exported to Europe, there manufactured, bro't
back, and sold here at an extraVagant price.
Thus for the want Of good economy, their cloath-
ing costs double the sum it otherwise would.
If these directions are followed, permanent CO.
lours chosen, and the clothier does his dury, A
merican clothes will be elegant and durable, and
the farmers handsomely rewarded for extra trou-
bic.