Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1866-12-01
.H7 ANTIQUITY OF SHEEP.

.b".. ANTIQUITY OF SHEEP. aIf W
We find sheep mentioned in the mos
ancient writing, in the first chapter q
Genesis, in the Persian Zind Aaesta. i,
the Indian Vedes, and in the Chimes,
Chouking, and represented on the mon
uments ofEgypt. According to Geoffre,
Saint Hilaire, the highest authority oi
species, the specific source of our domcs
sic sheep is unknown. All that is Ger
tain is that the present race originated il
the East? the primitive names, Jock and
bouc, found in the most ancient and As
latic languages, being preserved in oul
form b,tck. .. -. -. ....,t t...
I,-r Ha.. r. VARIETIES. . te-n. e .- -
Excepting, perhaps, the dog, the sheep
! presents greater variety of form and
covering than any other animal. Thus
we have the coarse Cordova and Dons-
skol woods for our carpets; the noble elec-
toral wools of Saxony and Silesia for our
6road-cloths; the strong middle woods of
Southdown and our native sheep for
blankets; the soft, long and finer merino
wools OF France, Vermont and Michigan
tor thlbets, delaincs and shawls; the lon
ger and coarser combing woods of the
Cotswool and Leicester races for wors-
teds in their thousand applications; the
very long and bright-haired lustrc woods
OF Lincolnshire for. alpaca fabrics, and
lastly, the precious silky Maucllalnp wool
the recent trial of French agohomic skill.
rivaling even the cashmere for shawls.
and the angora for Utrecht velvet.
f.... .. DURABILITY OF FIBRE. .
The perfection of the fibre is shown in
its observation-disclosures and durability
Cotton and flax may ultimately be re-
duced to mere woody fibre Wool is al
most incapable of mechanical destruction.
The existence of 'shoddy,' the term of
rcproach to the woolen manufacturers, is
the strongest proof of the excellence and
lndestructabllity of its original fibre.
THE FELTING PROPERTY.
The fibre of wood is crisped or spirally
curled, and is made up of cells of differ
ent kinds-thc interior forming the pith
and the exterior consisting of serrated
rings, imbricated over each other, having
under the microscope the appearance of
a series of thimbols of uncv en- edges inscr-
ted into each other, these serratures as well
as the spiral curls, being more or less dis
tinct, ,according to the fineness of the FIBRE
We have here the cause of the invaluable
quality of the fclting, to which we owe
our hats and dbroadcloths. ra< r aU
AMOUNT OF WOOL, TO EACH INHAErrANT.
The aggregate production of wool in
the whole globe is estimated rs 1910,
100000 pounds, or pound and a quar-
for RI zach inh. hif,pt .lf'' HE--f
..-r TIE ROMAN PURPLE. .... 81.
Wool was largely used by the Romans.
An instance is cited where single pa
trician bequeathed by will, two hundred
thousand sheep. The finest kind, how
ever, appear to have been valued very
highly. gI3.i7 l9yils.r Il laa .a5s =
The Roman purple worn by the sena-
tors, was made from woods of Italy, which,
according to Pliny, were worth four dol
lers per pound of twelve ounces, and
which, of the same weight, were worth
one hundred and sixty dollars when col
ored with the Tyrian dye. 1t is not
strange, then, that Horace should boast
of a gift to his mistress of fleece twice
dyed with Tyrian murex. The world
has regretted, for many centuries, the
loss of this imperial dye; but within the
last ten years, or no later than 1856, chem
istry has produced from analinc, q pro-
duct of worthless coal tar, a purple tint,
light, alkalies and acids, and ri
valing, upon the light worstcd zephprs of
our simple maidens, the hue OF the patri-
clan mantle. M 5AI rt
Twenty-Five years ago woolen rags
were worth almost "a per ton to be con
verted again into cloth 1t Is estimated |
that, in the neighborhood of Leeds, 5000, |
O0oto 5000, 900 yards of cloth, of the value
of SI5 100000, are annually manufactured |
from this material, and that, if the sup.
ply of shcddy were stopped, it would
stop one-third of the wooden mills, in the |
United Kingdom, and bring distress up
on the West Riding in Yorkshire, as
great as that lately suffered i'll Lancashire
from the want of cotton. 1t is disclosed |
On the report of the London Exhibition of /
1862. that siXty-five million pounds of |
shoddy are annually consumed in Eng
and, a greater quantity than the whole
wool product OF the United States, est-
mated at 60, 4,9I3 pounds by the cen
,uS Vi ooo ~ ~ OllS Vi luc
1f depending upon foreign importation
or our goods, that We are in blissful ig-
lorance OF, their origin, aud are not
shocked with the consciousness of being
lad in the cast-of habilimcnts of a Polish
lew or Italian beggarl la'na iia
BoNAPARTE AS A SHEEP MAN. Ioaf
Napoleon said, 'Spain hls twenty-five
Millions of rlerinos; wish France to
iavc a hundred millions To effect this,
lmong other administrative aids, he es-
sixty additional sheep-folds to
hose of Rambouillet, where agricultural
SITS could obtain the use ofSpanish rams
without expense Visiting the establish
nent for printing calicocs of the celebra-
ed Oberhampf, Napoleon said to him, as
ne saw the perfection of the fabrics, ''we
ire both of us carrying on war with |
Englnd, but i think that yours, after all
S the best" These words says NJ. Ran.
loing, $50 fiattering and so just, were re-
,eated from one end of France to the 9TH
,r; they so inflamed the imaginations of
he people that the meanest artisan, ,helicy-
ng himself called upon to be the auxiha-